Lack of basic vehicle maintenance skills
Discussion
Ironic I know but I’m just sat at my local repair shop having the front end removed from the car to have the washers repaired and a guy, 40’s at a guess, looks like he has just come from a building site, asking the lady behind the desk if someone could check the tyre pressures on his car as he is going away this week to Cornwall.
I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
Grumps. said:
Ironic I know but I’m just sat at my local repair shop having the front end removed from the car to have the washers repaired and a guy, 40’s at a guess, looks like he has just come from a building site, asking the lady behind the desk if someone could check the tyre pressures on his car as he is going away this week to Cornwall.
I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
With something like that I wonder if people don't do it because they've never thought about buying the one piece of kit they'd require - maybe those really clueless assume everything is very expensive when it comes to cars, even a tyre pressure gauge? And then maybe the same misconception about a pump to inflate the tyres. I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
I don't know if people think it is beneath them or if they genuinely have no idea what they are doing. It's not a new thing, 25 years ago a friend of mine would book his car into a main dealer when a bulb went.
Same friend had to ask me where the water went when the washer warning came on.
At my girlfriends work one of the women there thought that the washer bottle was automatically topped up when it rained.
A woman I worked with would constantly run out of fuel because she didn't like filling the car up as her husband always did it. Same woman got a puncture on the motorway and drove with a shredded tyre as she "didn't want to stop"
The amount of people who will drive with an oil pressure light on and kill their car as they "needed to get to their destination"
You only have to watch the number of idiots on the Rufford Ford videos destroying their car in deep water to understand that a lot of people don't have a clue how a car works.
Same friend had to ask me where the water went when the washer warning came on.
At my girlfriends work one of the women there thought that the washer bottle was automatically topped up when it rained.
A woman I worked with would constantly run out of fuel because she didn't like filling the car up as her husband always did it. Same woman got a puncture on the motorway and drove with a shredded tyre as she "didn't want to stop"
The amount of people who will drive with an oil pressure light on and kill their car as they "needed to get to their destination"
You only have to watch the number of idiots on the Rufford Ford videos destroying their car in deep water to understand that a lot of people don't have a clue how a car works.
Imagine what'll happen if they drop the MOT requirement to every 2 years. There won't even be a basic level of safety check applied annually, as many people don't check their cars at all between tests.
Maybe the MOT test should include a mandatory demonstration by the owner that they can check the tyre pressures, top up washer fluid, and identify the main components of the engine bay?
Maybe the MOT test should include a mandatory demonstration by the owner that they can check the tyre pressures, top up washer fluid, and identify the main components of the engine bay?
Mrs V. has NEVER filled up her car in her life.
I get comments that her car is now half full. When it reaches 1/4 it's panic stations. One time the low fuel light was on and she only had to drive 3 miles each way and was in a major panic and I said it wasn't a problem. It wasn't, light on, min 1 gallon, assume 30mpg, it's fine. She made a huge drama out of that one! I just put my headphones on and carried on.
I get comments that her car is now half full. When it reaches 1/4 it's panic stations. One time the low fuel light was on and she only had to drive 3 miles each way and was in a major panic and I said it wasn't a problem. It wasn't, light on, min 1 gallon, assume 30mpg, it's fine. She made a huge drama out of that one! I just put my headphones on and carried on.
Joey Deacon said:
I don't know if people think it is beneath them or if they genuinely have no idea what they are doing. It's not a new thing, 25 years ago a friend of mine would book his car into a main dealer when a bulb went.
Same friend had to ask me where the water went when the washer warning came on.
At my girlfriends work one of the women there thought that the washer bottle was automatically topped up when it rained.
A woman I worked with would constantly run out of fuel because she didn't like filling the car up as her husband always did it. Same woman got a puncture on the motorway and drove with a shredded tyre as she "didn't want to stop"
The amount of people who will drive with an oil pressure light on and kill their car as they "needed to get to their destination"
You only have to watch the number of idiots on the Rufford Ford videos destroying their car in deep water to understand that a lot of people don't have a clue how a car works.
People just don’t care, but these days lots of people seem incapable of doing anything remotely practical / hands on. I work with a chap who literally owns no tools. Absolutely nothing. Bonkers.Same friend had to ask me where the water went when the washer warning came on.
At my girlfriends work one of the women there thought that the washer bottle was automatically topped up when it rained.
A woman I worked with would constantly run out of fuel because she didn't like filling the car up as her husband always did it. Same woman got a puncture on the motorway and drove with a shredded tyre as she "didn't want to stop"
The amount of people who will drive with an oil pressure light on and kill their car as they "needed to get to their destination"
You only have to watch the number of idiots on the Rufford Ford videos destroying their car in deep water to understand that a lot of people don't have a clue how a car works.
The Rufford Ford videos are an eye opener for sure.
Grumps. said:
Ironic I know but I’m just sat at my local repair shop having the front end removed from the car to have the washers repaired and a guy, 40’s at a guess, looks like he has just come from a building site, asking the lady behind the desk if someone could check the tyre pressures on his car as he is going away this week to Cornwall.
I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
To be fair, at least he knew they should be checked. I wonder how many people load up their car for their annual holiday and don't even know they should think about the tyre pressures?I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
Grumps. said:
Ironic I know but I’m just sat at my local repair shop having the front end removed from the car to have the washers repaired and a guy, 40’s at a guess, looks like he has just come from a building site, asking the lady behind the desk if someone could check the tyre pressures on his car as he is going away this week to Cornwall.
I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
Was it ever taught?I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
Carguy44 said:
Grumps. said:
Ironic I know but I’m just sat at my local repair shop having the front end removed from the car to have the washers repaired and a guy, 40’s at a guess, looks like he has just come from a building site, asking the lady behind the desk if someone could check the tyre pressures on his car as he is going away this week to Cornwall.
I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
Was it ever taught?I mean, anything more than that or changing bulbs wipers checking and topping up fluids etc, then I just don’t have the means to do it but isn’t basic vehicle care taught anymore?
Hold on... You took your car to a garage to have a minor repair carried out that wouldn't require more than a basic toolkit?
Stones and glass houses spring to mind!
Fiesta man is demonstrating why TPMS became mandatory - I suppose at least he has an appreciation that tyres should be checked. I wouldn't have gone to a garage to ask them to check the tyres but given the compressors at my local petrol stations are permanently broken I have some sympathy if he's at least tried them first; I never needed a tyre inflator of my own until I moved to this area.
Stones and glass houses spring to mind!
Fiesta man is demonstrating why TPMS became mandatory - I suppose at least he has an appreciation that tyres should be checked. I wouldn't have gone to a garage to ask them to check the tyres but given the compressors at my local petrol stations are permanently broken I have some sympathy if he's at least tried them first; I never needed a tyre inflator of my own until I moved to this area.
There is still hope... it exists in surprising places.
My sixty year old, overweight, couch potato, sister recently rang me to ask for advice on how to change a headlamp bulb on her little Peugeot hatchback. She was cleaning it for the first time in about a year and checking all worked before a trip to see a relative... I was impressed.
On the other hand, I frequent a few motorcycle forums where many of the members have a superiority complex about how "bikers are better than car drivers" - i.e. handle their vehicles better, know more about them etc., yawn... Many of them never bother checking tyre pressures, despite the massive effect that even a couple of pound down can have on the performance of a bike... let alone chain tension and similar regular maintenance. Even performance bikes have succumbed to the "white goods"mentality.
My sixty year old, overweight, couch potato, sister recently rang me to ask for advice on how to change a headlamp bulb on her little Peugeot hatchback. She was cleaning it for the first time in about a year and checking all worked before a trip to see a relative... I was impressed.
On the other hand, I frequent a few motorcycle forums where many of the members have a superiority complex about how "bikers are better than car drivers" - i.e. handle their vehicles better, know more about them etc., yawn... Many of them never bother checking tyre pressures, despite the massive effect that even a couple of pound down can have on the performance of a bike... let alone chain tension and similar regular maintenance. Even performance bikes have succumbed to the "white goods"mentality.
donkmeister said:
Hold on... You took your car to a garage to have a minor repair carried out that wouldn't require more than a basic toolkit?
Stones and glass houses spring to mind!
Fiesta man is demonstrating why TPMS became mandatory - I suppose at least he has an appreciation that tyres should be checked. I wouldn't have gone to a garage to ask them to check the tyres but given the compressors at my local petrol stations are permanently broken I have some sympathy if he's at least tried them first; I never needed a tyre inflator of my own until I moved to this area.
I did begin my original post with ‘irony’ though.Stones and glass houses spring to mind!
Fiesta man is demonstrating why TPMS became mandatory - I suppose at least he has an appreciation that tyres should be checked. I wouldn't have gone to a garage to ask them to check the tyres but given the compressors at my local petrol stations are permanently broken I have some sympathy if he's at least tried them first; I never needed a tyre inflator of my own until I moved to this area.
But, removing the front bumper etc just to get at the feckin wash reservoir is more than topping up the air in one’s tyres.
And im too old to be crawling around on a cold broken tarmac driveway.
Grumps. said:
I did begin my original post with ‘irony’ though.
But, removing the front bumper etc just to get at the feckin wash reservoir is more than topping up the air in one’s tyres.
And im too old to be crawling around on a cold broken tarmac driveway.
I had a Subaru WRX. Changing a front sidelight bulb required dismantling half the bloody car. And blood.But, removing the front bumper etc just to get at the feckin wash reservoir is more than topping up the air in one’s tyres.
And im too old to be crawling around on a cold broken tarmac driveway.
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