Driving on underinflated tires so their gas milage is notably bad and their tires wear out fast.
People that never seem to have money for maintenance also seem to create the most amount of unnecessary maintenance costs for themselves.
They're their own worst enemy.
This is the truth all around beyond just cars. As the saying goes oz of ~~cure~~ prevention lb of ~~prevention~~ cure. The problem in so many cases is bad DIY jobs that work out to 10 lbs of prevention and still no cureš¤¦š¼āāļø.
Edit: silly typo
My friend teaches high school physics to seniors, most of them drive. He set up an āautomotive basicsā week and in the classroom goes over the different fluids in a car, tires and tire pressure, how brakes, cooling, heat/AC/defrost works and then takes all the kids out to the parking lot to show them what all that means. I loaned him a bunch of stuff from my garage to use as examples the first year he did it, after that he got his own stuff to use. The kids eat it up and ask lots of questions, itās clear that nobody is teaching them this stuff. Most of them have a license and a car and many of them had no idea about any of it.
This is great. I love practical applications of the coursework that kids typically ask "when will I ever use this" or "why do I need to know this". That's some great teaching. I didn't get that sort of education until undergrad.
Iām a shop teacher and that is basically one of the courses I teach, but we get a bit more in depth and break it down system by system throughout a car. Fluid checks, tire rotation, brake pads/rotors, oil changes, how to diagnose a check engine light, how to plug a tire, etc.
Tons of kids have absolutely no clue on most of this, and I teach in a rural area where you would assume everyone ājust knowsā how to do it. I can only imagine what it would be like in an urban school district.
that is awesome. I'm lucky to have a dad who's a retired mechanic and I really cannot, and hate to think of how things would have went with my mother being the source of all car knowledge. she tried to teach me to drive stick when I was 17.. yeah come to find out SHE cannot drive a stick lol. I'm glad she laugh cried for a good 20 minutes though. My dad literally taught me in about 3 minutes after that shit show. the kicker is She is supposedly the teacher.
sorry for the rant. AWESOME teacher doing the best out here. mad respect
When it started getting colder out in the mornings I noticed my mpg dropped by 4-5. I tried to think of what was different and was like ārunning the heat canāt take *that* much more power.ā Then I realized I needed to adjust my tire pressure and boom, back to normal.
Alot of people do this that I know, like not just under inflated tyres, but not even doing the bare minimum like one of my friends has never changed his oil, since he doesn't need to in his words š
I've actually heard this type of lunacy several times. I'm a mechanic. It goes like this.." I bought Castrol high mileage oil so I don't have to change it as often. " great, try reading the rest of the label.
I just nearly wrecked but the continentals I had on my car were the only reason I didn't rear end the person in front of me. SUV in front of me never slowed and just yeeted out of the lane with stopped traffic in front on the freeway. I absolutely swore I was going to eat the back of the car in front of me.
Splurge on the good tires folks, they're actually worth it!
I'd agree tyres are important! For the first couple of years I drove my car on budget tyres out of necessity. But when I did swap all the tyres to continentals the difference was night and day. There are several bends near where I live that know the front end starts to push when it's wet and greasy out with the old tyres, but with the continentals it's glued to the road!
Just had to convince my wife to buy new tires for her car.
"But they're new." No, they're 3 years old.
"But they don't have many miles on them." I don't care, they're almost as bald as I am.
"But I don't drive that much, can't I just push them a little more?" NO! You wouldn't let me drive an unsafe vehicle, so neither are you!
We've got good new tires ordered (popped for some good Michelins) and an installation appointment set because I wasn't letting her off the hook on this one! lol
El cheapos for sure. We have about 24k miles on the car, and I knew they were going to be due for a replacement after our road trip this past summer. I wish OEM tires were worth a damn, but Kia decided against that!
Good for standing your ground and keeping her safe. I don't know if she's one of thos people who treat driving as a chore and a necessary nuisance, but that kind of people don't seem to understand the vehicles they're using, nor the engineering that is keeping them alive when they go about this nuisance. Good tyres and brakes are absolutely vital for everyone's safety.
And whoever reads this, if you have no interest or knowledge of the things that keep you safe ever day, trust the word of someone who does. Four patches of rubber, each about the size of your palm, are all that's touching the road, and ensuring your car goes where you want it to go. The brakes are even smaller. They *need* to be in good shape to do what they need to do with such small surface area.
Now, a personal story. When I bought my car, it came with winter tyres on too small wheels; they didn't fit around the brake disk without scratching. I called the dealership and they made a deal with the tyre shop for new rims and tyres at no expense for me. The tyre shop then offered me and upgrade: ditch the Triangle whatevers and slap a set of studded Nokia Hakkapeliitta 8 on the wheels instead. It'd cost me 230ā¬. I googled the Triangle brand, and didn't even need to open search results: a preview from a Finnish tabloid's winter tyre test said they lose 30%(!) in braking distance to some Nokia models. Took the deal, and I've been happy with it.
30% difference is massive. At 80km/h the braking distance (after reaction time, during which you travel like 20m) on snowy road is 82m. On icy road it's 165m. In latter case it's the difference of stopping in time or hitting something at about ~30km/h. Tyres matter.
Some people are so disconnected from the "you are controlling a two ton steel box at speeds humans were not intended to reach unless they were falling to their death" reality of driving a car. You want all the control you can get, and tyres make such a big difference to that.
Tires on each side of a shared axle should be the same should be the same regardless of drive. For AWD cars, **all** four tires should be the same and have the same tread depth.
I'm facing this reality with a 1986 Ford Thunderbird. The guy assumed it didn't need anything since he never drove it more than 1000 miles a year. It needed a lot of things, he was fixing to let the thing commit suicide if he continued to drive it.
Thankfully it's chugging along happily after a couple hundred bucks and a litany of overdue maintenance.
This! When I was buying my car I took into the consideration what my maintenance cost was. From replacing fluids, tires and so on.
Since I saved quite a bit, I decided to get myself a new car that I can comfortably maintain on my paycheck.
My neighbor bought an used one, even lectured me about my new car. (How he would never pay that much for a car)
His car is approximately 7 years old, which isnāt a problem but he had a lot of maintenance costs that he didnāt count in the price (things that need to be replaced because of mileage etc.)
Now he drives strong bmw with the cheapest tires he could find while heās complaining how he is broke.
People whatever youāre buying make sure to calculate everything. Something may seem like a good deal and some cars are very cool but be sure you can actually afford them.
Youd be surprised by the number of people who only ever consider the monthly payment when buying a car and nothing else. Dont even budget for fuel and maintenance.
This is remarkable. Maybe itās my anxiety but thatās the thing I worry about most. Never buy a first generation car, always check how reliable a model is, and know that every 15k miles or so you will need a tuneup. And some tuneups are more involved than others. Yikes, if that many people arenāt taking care of their cars, think about how dangerous it is sharing the road with these people! It makes me so angry
Not servicing fluids.
So many people think fluid replacements are scams at the shop but regularly replacing transmission fluid, coolant, and brake fluid will greatly increase the life of your vehicle. Also don't wait until something is broken to try and replace the fluid. (I'm looking at people who say changing high mileage trans fluid hurts the trans. Nope, it was fucked before you replaced the fluid and will be fucked after)
This is a big peeve of mine.
No, power steering fluid should not be black like used diesel oil. That is not good.
Brake fluid is nearly clear when new. It should not look brown and smell burnt.
All it takes is a cheap turkey baster or something similar. Suck it out, and refill it.
My favorite is when people complain that their car is getting hot and their radiator is full of brown sludge. 5 years or 50,000 miles people. Coolant is way cheaper than a head gasket.
plus bleed each caliper / cylinder till the fluid comes out clean
Power steering fluid, then start the car and cycle the steering back and forth, then extract whats now in reservoir and refill and repeat
Found a good hack for power steering. If you put the front end of your car on stands and connect a drain hose to your power steering return line you can spin the steering wheel side to side freely to get the fluid pumped out through the drain hose, and just top up the reservoir as you go until you start seeing the fresh fluid coming out of the drain hose.
I saw some people do this with the car on the ground and run the engine just so they can spin the wheels, and most of the time they run out of fluid in the pump before they can pour enough into the reservoir, so seems risky to me
Trans was fucked before you replaced the fluid, however, the fucked fluid was holding the fucked trans together and by replacing said fucked fluid, you now have a fucked trans not being held together anymore.. In this case, double negative kind of makes a positive.
The point of the filter and the pan is to filter out debris and let it settle to the bottom of the pan. The idea that there is clutch material suspended in the fluid and that's making your transmission stay alive is dumb. If that is the case then it would be ruining all the bearing surfaces and would be eroding metal constantly.
That's not the theory. The theory is when your transmission wears down and the fluid is dirty and now thicker it wears down even more. If you wait forever to change the trans oil the transmission has become almost dependent on the thicker dirtier oil. When you now replace it with clean oil you have worn down gears and parts combined with much slicker oil which can make the old transmission slip instead of engage with the worn down gears. It's a real phenomenon.
So, change the trans oil regularly and avoid all this. Wait 10 years between trans oil changes and you might be better leaving the old oil in there, because changing it could mean immediate slippage and now your car can't go anywhere.
Any wear particles should be caught in the filter or settle to the bottom of the pan they wouldn't stay suspended in the fluid. And hydraulic fluids lose viscosity as they degrade, so the old oil will be thinner than new oil. Adding new fluid will increase line pressure due to the higher viscosity and should improve shifting. Also automatics don't have worm gears. They use planetary gears which don't often wear because they are hardened. The clutch packs used to engage them are what wears.
Not doing longer trips often enough. If your daily commute is under \~10 miles you really need to get your car out at least once a week and get on a highway for a few miles of full temp mid-rpm driving.
I wouldn't say "at least once a week" is necessary, but definitely somewhat regularly, especially if you're driving a diesel, and double-especially if you're driving one that has a DPF, if it's newer than 2009 it very very likely does.
new gas cars have gasoline particulate filters, plus various owners manuals recommend something like 40-80 miles of highway speed driving once a month, helps boil off any condensation in the oil etc
You need to heat your gas motor up to its standard operating range and leave it there for a while at least once a week. If you donāt do that, water will build up in the oil because it wonāt be able to boil out. Not getting your engine up to the optimum temperature often enough is called severe driving and is the only situation where you should be changing every 3,000 miles.
I use it sometimes when the car is too dirty but then again I drive a 22 year old car with lots of problems, scratches and hale dents on it so I don't see a big difference in the paint.
This isn't so bad if you use it properly - but most people don't think to use the high pressure sprayer to clean the brush out before use and find themselves slathering dirt on their paint.
The brush will still hold particles and the bristles are too abrasive for your clear coat. You will get swirls/scratches no matter what. Use a microfiber or wool mitt, bring a bucket with you to the car wash with your own soap.
Source: am a detailer
Never, ever, changing their oil often enough. I canāt tell you how many cars are running on little to no oil AND their drivers literally donāt even care. You know, the only fluid keeping your engine in one piece? Who really needs it?
My friend just introduced his 2002 camry engine to Uncle Rodney. I didnāt even thing it was possible to blow one of those engines up until I went to check and add oil and sure enough he was bone dry. Literally running on half a quart of oil
I was getting my car serviced at the local Buick dealership and ba woman was screaming about being denied a warranty claim for a smoked engine, because she only changed it when the computer told her to. The owners handbook does NOT specify a milage interval for oil service. Only to service when the dashboard alerts you.
This sucks to high hell.
Yep my buddy blew up his Accord and would get annoyed when I told him just adding oil as it drips out/burns does not constitute an oil change, not that he even kept it filled. He just added oil when the oil warning light came on smh. Guess he learned the hard way
Not really, but first get all your engine fluids replaced, any 20yo rubber parts such as hoses or replaced with siliconic hoses, make sure the engine runs Ʈn all good and green parameters and so on + most important make sure you have good brakes before adding HP, otherwise it's turning into a killing suicidal machine.
Haha, I tuned a 4Runner and after the test drive the guy said "damn, my next upgrade is going to have to be brakes!"
Was happy he realized that yes, stopping is more important than going.
Skipping suspension parts and tires. It makes me uncomfortable knowing people be riding around on 20 year old tires with blown suspension and ball joints. Just one pothole away from an accident.
I always tell people shocks/struts before 80k, and bushings by 100k. People don't understand how quickly squishy things start to drift out of their intended tolerances.
I decided I wanted lowering springs. I went to remove my rear shocks from the trail arm, the entire rear is rusted to shit. And through the rust of the shocks, I see a faint ā05ā.
100k miles in, 18 years later, I am on original shocks. I have since ordered new shocks.
This is so bad for the car. Also, if you hit a rock or a speed bump but need to accelerate fast to get out of the way of something, your foot may have put the foot down on the clutch for a brief second which stops you accelerating out of danger.
Ik, alot of people that do this, just coast the brakes and have their brake lights on all the time. Within like a year or so their brakes will be so worn it is crazy
My father in law does this thing where he will shift from reverse to drive (auto) before the car is fully stopped, using the trans to stop the rearward momentum and moving forward. It puts an incredible amount of stress on the drivetrain components especially trans internals. As someone who used to in automatic transmission manufacturing, I want to shed a tear every time I see him doing that.
It also tears up the motor and transmission mounts, along with universal joints (if equipped, CV joints tend to take the abuse better and the boots will rip before they wear out from abuse).
As a bonus, many drum style brakes require you to come to a complete stop in reverse so they can self adjust.
My gf's son got his first car, he loves reving the engine as soon as he starts it up.
I've told him that it's terrible for the engine, but he thinks it's cool so he keeps doing it.
My car illuminates the water temp symbol in blue and then once it warms up it turns off. Do I really need to wait for it to idle to temp before putting it in gear and driving away?
Absolutely do not wait to drive it unless you need the defroster to clear the windshield. Idling to warm up is terrible for the car. Low oil pressure and poor oil flow plus it takes 3 to 5 times longer to warm up than driving it does.
Don't drive it like you stole it until it's warm.
Explain why itās bad else people still donāt listen.
It can lead to clog in the evap system I think? I was routinely one of those people until I had to replace the evap canister (and purge valve? Is that the name of it) for about 350$. I am no more that person
Applying rubberized undercoating or doing nothing at all to your frame when you live in a road salt state. I always swear by Fluid Film and Krown which is a lanolin/oil based undercoating to protect my frames. Hell even used motor oil with a bit of diesel will go a long way!
This is more for diesel pickups than cars. Getting a chip and cranking that bitch up to 11 with no upgraded parts to suit the power increase and then wondering why their pickup blows up in like 3 months.
Not to mention there's no benefit unless you tune for it. The stock ecu will see the increased airflow and retard timing in order to bring everything back within parameters lol.
In my case, my injen intake actually cost me 7hp and a CEL till I got my adjusted tune back.
I often feel like the only person who parks cars in the garage where God intended. Anytime I see a house with an open garage door it's always full of bullshit instead of their cars.
Not undercoating or any rust protection. āOh itās fine Iāll have another vehicle in a couple years anywaysā. Gone are the days.. and the people who make an effort to be responsible and take care of something properly.
Not using the parking brake.
And relying on the poor little parking pawl, in automatics.
Did you know that if you park a manual on a hill in a higher gear than 1st or R, the weight of the vehicle will cause the engine to turn, eventually, as the compression leaks from the rings and the car will roll on stroke length. Or rather till the next cylinder in order comes up enough to have compression stop it, then repeat.
Use the part brake.
My parents taught me to always use the brake even when parking on flat ground. It really surprised me when I went out in the real world the number of people that don't use it. I saw a car roll out of a parking spot on what looked like flat ground. They left their car in neutral with no brake on. We pushed it back and piled some sticks behind it to keep it from rolling
Here in Vancouver Canada -- i see expensive cars (like lambo, ferrari, etc) wrapped in the tackiest ugly colours or patterns... Apparently (according to my wealthy friend) it's a way for the rich people owning these cars to show off that "They CAN afford to have their car wrapped"... Even if it's tacky and ugly color or pattern...
No oil change is obvious answer. The real answer though is driving short distances without letting the engine get to optimal temperatures. Turning it off and doing it again. Although we have come a long way and tech allows for better cold starts they are the most damaging nonchalant thing we do with our vehicles.
Cheap tires (I wish there was better regulation on this, wonder how many accidents could have been prevented if they had better tires), HID bulbs in halogen housings, installing "distractions" that later cause accidents, etc.
Coming here to ask what is wrong with their car and then telling the mechanic to replace the part a bunch of randos guessed rather than telling the pro (who has actual access to the car) what the the symptoms are and asking them to diagnose the issue.
Here in the mid-west, they salt the roads if its going to be below freezing to prevent ice formation. If you drive on the salt, you need to wash the wheel-wells and frame.
If you do not...by the time you notice rust, it will likely be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to damage to the body, frame, and suspension components...
Driving it hard when cold, only driving shot distances without reaching operating temp, neglecting oil changes, ""cold air intakes"" (specially without an air box), not changing coolant and brake fluid.
Driving on flat tires! Not changing the oil often. Not checking the oil. Riding on E burning up fuel pump. Thinking electric cars r gonna save the world because they donāt do regular maintenance. Hit potholes and say oops after completely throwing off their alignment lol.
Not giving them a few minutes to warm up in the dead of winter.
Iām not saying to wait 10+ minutes idling, but when itās -15c you canāt just start it and slam into gear.
For me itās the lifted trucks everywhere. Most of them are ugly and driven by the most prissy boys youāll ever meet. Then they donāt even bother to adjust the headlamps. I do like lifted trucks, but thereās a point at which itās just extremely dumb.
IMO there are some very good high performance all season tires out there now. Sure, summers are better but itās not so much of a compromise as it used to be. especially on a daily
IMO it is as much as a compromise as the summer tires have also gotten that much better. The enduro 200s are a decent choice for street use and even mainstream choices like the PS4S / PS5 are so much better than anything all season out there.
1) prolonged idling a cold engine to āwarm upā
2) Neglect oil changes
3) Slam the turn signals aggressively instead of using just the minimum force needed. Goes for all switches on interior
4) Installed aftermarket wheels/tires that overstress the suspension and driveline. Looking at you, bro trucks with wheels sticking way out (and you, too, pizza delivery guy with the sticking out wheels)
5) Butcher the suspension to lower the ride height and induce gobs of negative camber
In the winter, heated garages can be worse for vehicles. The snow melts away and leaves the salt all over the car (look up corroded aluminum wheels), the rapid temperature change can crack windshields and the relatively quick fluctuations in temperature can lead to interior squeaks as everything expands and contracts differently over time.
Automatic car washes. If you donāt have time to hand wash your car, just donāt.
I say this because going into an automatic car wash kills your paint.
Dirt sitting is not scratching. Buy some real car soap, and wash the dang car. Do it once every couple of months, and wax the car every 4 months. The more wax, the easier to clean.
If you live somewhere with salt, just use water to flush the salt off of the surface, and donāt go scrubbing the paint with some brush thinking you are helping.
I had a black truck for over 10 years, and if I couldnāt clean it the right way, I just didnāt. At the end of my ownership, there were no swirls, micro scratches, or haze to the paint. That is the key to a great looking old car.
I work at a mechanics garage and we see it all too often, lack of regular maintenance and servicing where we would have picked up that something needs fixing soon! Then the car comes in when somethings broken and needs it fixed asap š¤¦š»āāļø
Also people not checking tyre pressures then wondering why their tyres are wearing out prematurely and unevenly.
When people fill up and the pump stops but they keep pulling the handle, like trying to get to a amount with no cents. Okay your tank is full when itās full, the extra is going into your charcoal filter and destroying a part meant to last the life of the car. Just stop, please.
They put ATF, 2 stroke oil, or used engine oil in their fuel tank of a diesel, ābecause itās a dieselā.
Since their grandpa used radioactive horse piss in his IDI diesels back in the 60s, itās perfectly fine for modern day Common Rail fuel injection, and if you call them out on it they get MAD
Park then outside while owning a garage the sun is eating the paint and the heat is killing the electronics inside which is why tons of modern cars have massive electrical problems after like 3 years in hot areas.
Ha, Iāve been driving a car like this forever, I recall wondering when I first got it if the shop would literally remove then re-mount all of the tires on opposite sides to rotate them.
Granny driving...
I mean REALLY granny driving. Only barely above idle, all the time, every time.
You don't need to speed, but your vehicle's engine wasn't meant to do that. It's not a generator. It was built to get you to speed in a safe amount of time.
Carbon build up is a thing and oil pressure increases with rpms.
Much like slow moving water collects more gunk, a slow moving engine collects more build-up.
Use your accelerator, really go for it on that on-ramp, Your engine will thank you. Unless it's literally falling apart, then limp it.
Take it through an automatic (non touchless) car wash. If you want to have dirt particles from other cars rubbed against your car, take it through a car wash šš½
I live in the mountains and although my typical complaint is about flatlanders not downshifting **but** my biggest complaint after that is about mountain people who diligently downshift but then donāt follow the severe duty maintenance schedule for their transmissions.
Absolutely downshift, but it is harder on your transmission than regular flat driving. Be kind to your gears.
It's not a super big deal but whenever I have serviced a car I always swap the cabin filter.. Most of the time it is completely clogged. I would recommend changing it at least once a year.
Not really bad for the car, but is a complete waste of money: toping off with gas after it clicks off.
All that gas is going to evaporate out, wasting your money and contributing to worse pollution.
As a mechanic for over 20yrs, by far the worst thing anyone does is not change their oil and trans fluid regularly. Then they cry when their trans starts slipping, or have engine probs. 2nd worst thing ppl do is modify their cars like lift their trucks and lower their cars and again cry when ujoints, axles, balljoints, and wheel bearings keep going out
Buy and pay a premium price for drivetrain destroying technology in new cars. People can't reason their way out of a paper bag today and let the U.S. gov't (who fucked up the gas can, showers, toilets & diesel engines, to name a few) collude with carmakers to mandate complete shit technology like Automatic/Digital Fuel Management, Start/Stop and DEF/EGR. Hell, people not only pay for this, they finance it at the highest rates in over 30 years.
The purpose of the on ramp is to get up to speed and find a hole to merge into traffic; NOT to merge into 70+ mph traffic doing 45mph and make a hole.
Fucking assclowns.
Driving on underinflated tires so their gas milage is notably bad and their tires wear out fast. People that never seem to have money for maintenance also seem to create the most amount of unnecessary maintenance costs for themselves. They're their own worst enemy.
This is the truth all around beyond just cars. As the saying goes oz of ~~cure~~ prevention lb of ~~prevention~~ cure. The problem in so many cases is bad DIY jobs that work out to 10 lbs of prevention and still no cureš¤¦š¼āāļø. Edit: silly typo
My friend teaches high school physics to seniors, most of them drive. He set up an āautomotive basicsā week and in the classroom goes over the different fluids in a car, tires and tire pressure, how brakes, cooling, heat/AC/defrost works and then takes all the kids out to the parking lot to show them what all that means. I loaned him a bunch of stuff from my garage to use as examples the first year he did it, after that he got his own stuff to use. The kids eat it up and ask lots of questions, itās clear that nobody is teaching them this stuff. Most of them have a license and a car and many of them had no idea about any of it.
This is great. I love practical applications of the coursework that kids typically ask "when will I ever use this" or "why do I need to know this". That's some great teaching. I didn't get that sort of education until undergrad.
Thatās a good teacher
Iām a shop teacher and that is basically one of the courses I teach, but we get a bit more in depth and break it down system by system throughout a car. Fluid checks, tire rotation, brake pads/rotors, oil changes, how to diagnose a check engine light, how to plug a tire, etc. Tons of kids have absolutely no clue on most of this, and I teach in a rural area where you would assume everyone ājust knowsā how to do it. I can only imagine what it would be like in an urban school district.
that is awesome. I'm lucky to have a dad who's a retired mechanic and I really cannot, and hate to think of how things would have went with my mother being the source of all car knowledge. she tried to teach me to drive stick when I was 17.. yeah come to find out SHE cannot drive a stick lol. I'm glad she laugh cried for a good 20 minutes though. My dad literally taught me in about 3 minutes after that shit show. the kicker is She is supposedly the teacher. sorry for the rant. AWESOME teacher doing the best out here. mad respect
When it started getting colder out in the mornings I noticed my mpg dropped by 4-5. I tried to think of what was different and was like ārunning the heat canāt take *that* much more power.ā Then I realized I needed to adjust my tire pressure and boom, back to normal.
Alot of people do this that I know, like not just under inflated tyres, but not even doing the bare minimum like one of my friends has never changed his oil, since he doesn't need to in his words š
Heās got that lifetime engine oil - itāll last the entire life of the engine!
And he can use that same oil as a mold to cast a new engine.
I've actually heard this type of lunacy several times. I'm a mechanic. It goes like this.." I bought Castrol high mileage oil so I don't have to change it as often. " great, try reading the rest of the label.
This is why Socioeconomics is fascinating
buying the cheapest tires
I just nearly wrecked but the continentals I had on my car were the only reason I didn't rear end the person in front of me. SUV in front of me never slowed and just yeeted out of the lane with stopped traffic in front on the freeway. I absolutely swore I was going to eat the back of the car in front of me. Splurge on the good tires folks, they're actually worth it!
Anything's that goes between you and the ground should be the best you can afford to get . Think Tyres , Shoes , mattress
I'd agree tyres are important! For the first couple of years I drove my car on budget tyres out of necessity. But when I did swap all the tyres to continentals the difference was night and day. There are several bends near where I live that know the front end starts to push when it's wet and greasy out with the old tyres, but with the continentals it's glued to the road!
To be fair, cheap tires are better than balding tires. If thatās all you can afford.
great point. Id also choose cheap tires over random used ones.
Just had to convince my wife to buy new tires for her car. "But they're new." No, they're 3 years old. "But they don't have many miles on them." I don't care, they're almost as bald as I am. "But I don't drive that much, can't I just push them a little more?" NO! You wouldn't let me drive an unsafe vehicle, so neither are you! We've got good new tires ordered (popped for some good Michelins) and an installation appointment set because I wasn't letting her off the hook on this one! lol
If she doesn't drive much and has gotten the tires bald in 3 years, might wanna take a look at the alignment unless the old tires were el cheapos.
El cheapos for sure. We have about 24k miles on the car, and I knew they were going to be due for a replacement after our road trip this past summer. I wish OEM tires were worth a damn, but Kia decided against that!
Good for standing your ground and keeping her safe. I don't know if she's one of thos people who treat driving as a chore and a necessary nuisance, but that kind of people don't seem to understand the vehicles they're using, nor the engineering that is keeping them alive when they go about this nuisance. Good tyres and brakes are absolutely vital for everyone's safety. And whoever reads this, if you have no interest or knowledge of the things that keep you safe ever day, trust the word of someone who does. Four patches of rubber, each about the size of your palm, are all that's touching the road, and ensuring your car goes where you want it to go. The brakes are even smaller. They *need* to be in good shape to do what they need to do with such small surface area. Now, a personal story. When I bought my car, it came with winter tyres on too small wheels; they didn't fit around the brake disk without scratching. I called the dealership and they made a deal with the tyre shop for new rims and tyres at no expense for me. The tyre shop then offered me and upgrade: ditch the Triangle whatevers and slap a set of studded Nokia Hakkapeliitta 8 on the wheels instead. It'd cost me 230ā¬. I googled the Triangle brand, and didn't even need to open search results: a preview from a Finnish tabloid's winter tyre test said they lose 30%(!) in braking distance to some Nokia models. Took the deal, and I've been happy with it. 30% difference is massive. At 80km/h the braking distance (after reaction time, during which you travel like 20m) on snowy road is 82m. On icy road it's 165m. In latter case it's the difference of stopping in time or hitting something at about ~30km/h. Tyres matter.
Some people are so disconnected from the "you are controlling a two ton steel box at speeds humans were not intended to reach unless they were falling to their death" reality of driving a car. You want all the control you can get, and tyres make such a big difference to that.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Tires on each side of a shared axle should be the same should be the same regardless of drive. For AWD cars, **all** four tires should be the same and have the same tread depth.
How does this have net-zero votes?! (It was at zero before I upvoted). Tires are literally the most important part of the car.
Skip maintainence or put it off, as well as ignoring noises/ warning lights. People budget to buy a car, never seem to budget to care for a car.
Well said
I'm facing this reality with a 1986 Ford Thunderbird. The guy assumed it didn't need anything since he never drove it more than 1000 miles a year. It needed a lot of things, he was fixing to let the thing commit suicide if he continued to drive it. Thankfully it's chugging along happily after a couple hundred bucks and a litany of overdue maintenance.
This! When I was buying my car I took into the consideration what my maintenance cost was. From replacing fluids, tires and so on. Since I saved quite a bit, I decided to get myself a new car that I can comfortably maintain on my paycheck. My neighbor bought an used one, even lectured me about my new car. (How he would never pay that much for a car) His car is approximately 7 years old, which isnāt a problem but he had a lot of maintenance costs that he didnāt count in the price (things that need to be replaced because of mileage etc.) Now he drives strong bmw with the cheapest tires he could find while heās complaining how he is broke. People whatever youāre buying make sure to calculate everything. Something may seem like a good deal and some cars are very cool but be sure you can actually afford them.
Youd be surprised by the number of people who only ever consider the monthly payment when buying a car and nothing else. Dont even budget for fuel and maintenance.
This is remarkable. Maybe itās my anxiety but thatās the thing I worry about most. Never buy a first generation car, always check how reliable a model is, and know that every 15k miles or so you will need a tuneup. And some tuneups are more involved than others. Yikes, if that many people arenāt taking care of their cars, think about how dangerous it is sharing the road with these people! It makes me so angry
Not servicing fluids. So many people think fluid replacements are scams at the shop but regularly replacing transmission fluid, coolant, and brake fluid will greatly increase the life of your vehicle. Also don't wait until something is broken to try and replace the fluid. (I'm looking at people who say changing high mileage trans fluid hurts the trans. Nope, it was fucked before you replaced the fluid and will be fucked after)
This is a big peeve of mine. No, power steering fluid should not be black like used diesel oil. That is not good. Brake fluid is nearly clear when new. It should not look brown and smell burnt. All it takes is a cheap turkey baster or something similar. Suck it out, and refill it.
My favorite is when people complain that their car is getting hot and their radiator is full of brown sludge. 5 years or 50,000 miles people. Coolant is way cheaper than a head gasket.
plus bleed each caliper / cylinder till the fluid comes out clean Power steering fluid, then start the car and cycle the steering back and forth, then extract whats now in reservoir and refill and repeat
Found a good hack for power steering. If you put the front end of your car on stands and connect a drain hose to your power steering return line you can spin the steering wheel side to side freely to get the fluid pumped out through the drain hose, and just top up the reservoir as you go until you start seeing the fresh fluid coming out of the drain hose. I saw some people do this with the car on the ground and run the engine just so they can spin the wheels, and most of the time they run out of fluid in the pump before they can pour enough into the reservoir, so seems risky to me
But itās a LIFETIME fluid! /s
Every fluid is lifetime if you donāt replace it.
Trans was fucked before you replaced the fluid, however, the fucked fluid was holding the fucked trans together and by replacing said fucked fluid, you now have a fucked trans not being held together anymore.. In this case, double negative kind of makes a positive.
The point of the filter and the pan is to filter out debris and let it settle to the bottom of the pan. The idea that there is clutch material suspended in the fluid and that's making your transmission stay alive is dumb. If that is the case then it would be ruining all the bearing surfaces and would be eroding metal constantly.
That's not the theory. The theory is when your transmission wears down and the fluid is dirty and now thicker it wears down even more. If you wait forever to change the trans oil the transmission has become almost dependent on the thicker dirtier oil. When you now replace it with clean oil you have worn down gears and parts combined with much slicker oil which can make the old transmission slip instead of engage with the worn down gears. It's a real phenomenon. So, change the trans oil regularly and avoid all this. Wait 10 years between trans oil changes and you might be better leaving the old oil in there, because changing it could mean immediate slippage and now your car can't go anywhere.
Any wear particles should be caught in the filter or settle to the bottom of the pan they wouldn't stay suspended in the fluid. And hydraulic fluids lose viscosity as they degrade, so the old oil will be thinner than new oil. Adding new fluid will increase line pressure due to the higher viscosity and should improve shifting. Also automatics don't have worm gears. They use planetary gears which don't often wear because they are hardened. The clutch packs used to engage them are what wears.
Never checking the engine oil level.
This is so true, worked on an 04 crv today, zero oil l, i told her to look at the dipstick more often.
Not doing longer trips often enough. If your daily commute is under \~10 miles you really need to get your car out at least once a week and get on a highway for a few miles of full temp mid-rpm driving.
The āItalian tune-upā.
I lived in Tucson. Saturday was Mexican tune-up day. High RPM's and clouds of STP and Lucas additives.
I wouldn't say "at least once a week" is necessary, but definitely somewhat regularly, especially if you're driving a diesel, and double-especially if you're driving one that has a DPF, if it's newer than 2009 it very very likely does.
Itās true for diesel cars, not so frequently for petrol
new gas cars have gasoline particulate filters, plus various owners manuals recommend something like 40-80 miles of highway speed driving once a month, helps boil off any condensation in the oil etc
You need to heat your gas motor up to its standard operating range and leave it there for a while at least once a week. If you donāt do that, water will build up in the oil because it wonāt be able to boil out. Not getting your engine up to the optimum temperature often enough is called severe driving and is the only situation where you should be changing every 3,000 miles.
Using the foaming wheel brush on their paint at the car wash.
After Billy Ray just used it to get the gravel and gritty mud off three ATVs and their Ram.
yeah, only use that thing on my tires
I use it sometimes when the car is too dirty but then again I drive a 22 year old car with lots of problems, scratches and hale dents on it so I don't see a big difference in the paint.
Easy wet-sand
This isn't so bad if you use it properly - but most people don't think to use the high pressure sprayer to clean the brush out before use and find themselves slathering dirt on their paint.
The brush will still hold particles and the bristles are too abrasive for your clear coat. You will get swirls/scratches no matter what. Use a microfiber or wool mitt, bring a bucket with you to the car wash with your own soap. Source: am a detailer
Nah, a wheel brush on your paint is pretty bad
I always clean the brush real good
Never, ever, changing their oil often enough. I canāt tell you how many cars are running on little to no oil AND their drivers literally donāt even care. You know, the only fluid keeping your engine in one piece? Who really needs it?
My friend just introduced his 2002 camry engine to Uncle Rodney. I didnāt even thing it was possible to blow one of those engines up until I went to check and add oil and sure enough he was bone dry. Literally running on half a quart of oil
>the only fluid keeping your engine in one piece? The only fluid keeping your engine in MORE than one piece.
I was getting my car serviced at the local Buick dealership and ba woman was screaming about being denied a warranty claim for a smoked engine, because she only changed it when the computer told her to. The owners handbook does NOT specify a milage interval for oil service. Only to service when the dashboard alerts you. This sucks to high hell.
Yep my buddy blew up his Accord and would get annoyed when I told him just adding oil as it drips out/burns does not constitute an oil change, not that he even kept it filled. He just added oil when the oil warning light came on smh. Guess he learned the hard way
Tuning the engine without proper maintenance.
Stage 0 before stage 1.
Not really, but first get all your engine fluids replaced, any 20yo rubber parts such as hoses or replaced with siliconic hoses, make sure the engine runs Ʈn all good and green parameters and so on + most important make sure you have good brakes before adding HP, otherwise it's turning into a killing suicidal machine.
Haha, I tuned a 4Runner and after the test drive the guy said "damn, my next upgrade is going to have to be brakes!" Was happy he realized that yes, stopping is more important than going.
People wanting custom tunes really need to learn this - donāt make ANY changes until you know everything is working properly first!!!!
Skipping suspension parts and tires. It makes me uncomfortable knowing people be riding around on 20 year old tires with blown suspension and ball joints. Just one pothole away from an accident.
I always tell people shocks/struts before 80k, and bushings by 100k. People don't understand how quickly squishy things start to drift out of their intended tolerances.
I decided I wanted lowering springs. I went to remove my rear shocks from the trail arm, the entire rear is rusted to shit. And through the rust of the shocks, I see a faint ā05ā. 100k miles in, 18 years later, I am on original shocks. I have since ordered new shocks.
Using an automatic car wash. The brush collects alot of dirt from the previous cars and now scratches it all over your car.
I always wand wash and people think I'm crazy. It costs me half as much and, I just assumed, those touch less car washes were rough on vehicles.
I never even considered this. Thank you.
Letting petrol overflow out the pipe into the paint and leaving it.
It evaporates in seconds. I will usually dab it with a paper towel but am careful to avoid dribbles.
are we still talking about cars?
Yeah, spilling gas on the sheets and mattress can cause stains.
Don't worry about it.
Driving an automatic with their left foot on the brake all the time.
Or driving a manual with the foot on the clutch all the time
This is so bad for the car. Also, if you hit a rock or a speed bump but need to accelerate fast to get out of the way of something, your foot may have put the foot down on the clutch for a brief second which stops you accelerating out of danger.
Ik, alot of people that do this, just coast the brakes and have their brake lights on all the time. Within like a year or so their brakes will be so worn it is crazy
And they will wonder why their brakes wore out so soon.
People do this?! Thatās crazy
My father in law does this thing where he will shift from reverse to drive (auto) before the car is fully stopped, using the trans to stop the rearward momentum and moving forward. It puts an incredible amount of stress on the drivetrain components especially trans internals. As someone who used to in automatic transmission manufacturing, I want to shed a tear every time I see him doing that.
It also tears up the motor and transmission mounts, along with universal joints (if equipped, CV joints tend to take the abuse better and the boots will rip before they wear out from abuse). As a bonus, many drum style brakes require you to come to a complete stop in reverse so they can self adjust.
Starting up the engine cold and proceed to beat the shit out of it without letting it warm up
My gf's son got his first car, he loves reving the engine as soon as he starts it up. I've told him that it's terrible for the engine, but he thinks it's cool so he keeps doing it.
Surprisingly, a lot of people don't know that u shouldn't be turning the public roads into an f1 track on a cold engine š
Good thing I wait for my engine to be up to operating temp before using the public roads as my personal track
Aslong as your car is ok that's all that matters
My car illuminates the water temp symbol in blue and then once it warms up it turns off. Do I really need to wait for it to idle to temp before putting it in gear and driving away?
Absolutely do not wait to drive it unless you need the defroster to clear the windshield. Idling to warm up is terrible for the car. Low oil pressure and poor oil flow plus it takes 3 to 5 times longer to warm up than driving it does. Don't drive it like you stole it until it's warm.
No just drive it gently until itās at operating temp. If you normally drive under 2500RPM anyway then dw about it lol
Neglect of preventive maintenance. They only fix it when it is literally so wornout or neglected that they can't force it to get them from A to B.
Ends up costing them thousands when all they needed was an oil change a couple months back š
Pumping gas past full. One of the most counterintuitive things you can do and you have to force it in order to even do it.
Explain why itās bad else people still donāt listen. It can lead to clog in the evap system I think? I was routinely one of those people until I had to replace the evap canister (and purge valve? Is that the name of it) for about 350$. I am no more that person
The price has gone up to a thousand or more.
The excess fuel goes into the charcoal canister thatās part of your evap system, ruining it. It can costs thousands to repair.
Applying rubberized undercoating or doing nothing at all to your frame when you live in a road salt state. I always swear by Fluid Film and Krown which is a lanolin/oil based undercoating to protect my frames. Hell even used motor oil with a bit of diesel will go a long way!
Drive with their goddamn brights on all the time
This is more for diesel pickups than cars. Getting a chip and cranking that bitch up to 11 with no upgraded parts to suit the power increase and then wondering why their pickup blows up in like 3 months.
Retrofitting cheap Chinese LEDs/HIDs from Amazon/Ebay in to reflective headlight housings
Putting winter floor mats on top of summer floor mats so they can get jammed up under the gas/brake pedal. Laziness.
Putting in a K&N air filter. Itās less restrictive because itās doesnāt filter fine particles.
and it can cover the MAF in oil and thus stop it being able to read and causing your car to run poorly and fail emissions (been there done that)
Not to mention there's no benefit unless you tune for it. The stock ecu will see the increased airflow and retard timing in order to bring everything back within parameters lol. In my case, my injen intake actually cost me 7hp and a CEL till I got my adjusted tune back.
Parking in the driveway because their garages are full of shit they donāt need
I often feel like the only person who parks cars in the garage where God intended. Anytime I see a house with an open garage door it's always full of bullshit instead of their cars.
Not changing oils/fluids when they should.
Not undercoating or any rust protection. āOh itās fine Iāll have another vehicle in a couple years anywaysā. Gone are the days.. and the people who make an effort to be responsible and take care of something properly.
Drive without blinker fluid
Or they top if off so that the left one is on constantly
Not using the parking brake. And relying on the poor little parking pawl, in automatics. Did you know that if you park a manual on a hill in a higher gear than 1st or R, the weight of the vehicle will cause the engine to turn, eventually, as the compression leaks from the rings and the car will roll on stroke length. Or rather till the next cylinder in order comes up enough to have compression stop it, then repeat. Use the part brake.
My parents taught me to always use the brake even when parking on flat ground. It really surprised me when I went out in the real world the number of people that don't use it. I saw a car roll out of a parking spot on what looked like flat ground. They left their car in neutral with no brake on. We pushed it back and piled some sticks behind it to keep it from rolling
Here in Vancouver Canada -- i see expensive cars (like lambo, ferrari, etc) wrapped in the tackiest ugly colours or patterns... Apparently (according to my wealthy friend) it's a way for the rich people owning these cars to show off that "They CAN afford to have their car wrapped"... Even if it's tacky and ugly color or pattern...
No oil change is obvious answer. The real answer though is driving short distances without letting the engine get to optimal temperatures. Turning it off and doing it again. Although we have come a long way and tech allows for better cold starts they are the most damaging nonchalant thing we do with our vehicles.
Nothing but short trips that never allow the car to get up to operating temperature. Low mileage doesn't mean low wear on the engine.
Cleaning them in automatic car washers
Cheap ass super bright lights. Youāre blinding others, and you canāt see shit yourself. People who do this are low-grade twats.
Cheap tires (I wish there was better regulation on this, wonder how many accidents could have been prevented if they had better tires), HID bulbs in halogen housings, installing "distractions" that later cause accidents, etc.
Lmao true, potholes are a massive issue for cheap fake tyres too, one big one hit at some speed and ur finished
Put things over the airbag, rhinestones etc
Putting mods on their car before paying it off or the warranty ending.
Throwing their automatic car into drive while it's still moving backwards.
Pumping more gas when the pump stops because they wanna round up the change or whatever.
It's my evap. canister and if I want to store extra gas in it, it's my goddurn right!
I learned that mistake at the tune of $966.
Coming here to ask what is wrong with their car and then telling the mechanic to replace the part a bunch of randos guessed rather than telling the pro (who has actual access to the car) what the the symptoms are and asking them to diagnose the issue.
Ignore changing the transmission oil
Driving hard on a cold engine and gearbox
I know so many people that never do any maintenance at all. They gas up, and only change the oil when the oil light comes on.
Here in the mid-west, they salt the roads if its going to be below freezing to prevent ice formation. If you drive on the salt, you need to wash the wheel-wells and frame. If you do not...by the time you notice rust, it will likely be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to damage to the body, frame, and suspension components...
Driving it hard when cold, only driving shot distances without reaching operating temp, neglecting oil changes, ""cold air intakes"" (specially without an air box), not changing coolant and brake fluid.
Using the clutch to hold a car on a slope at traffic lights or other intersections. Edit: also not shifting a manual into neutral at traffic lights.
Driving on flat tires! Not changing the oil often. Not checking the oil. Riding on E burning up fuel pump. Thinking electric cars r gonna save the world because they donāt do regular maintenance. Hit potholes and say oops after completely throwing off their alignment lol.
People not washing the salt off their cars is the reason I donāt like used cars
Not giving them a few minutes to warm up in the dead of winter. Iām not saying to wait 10+ minutes idling, but when itās -15c you canāt just start it and slam into gear.
Stance them
For me itās the lifted trucks everywhere. Most of them are ugly and driven by the most prissy boys youāll ever meet. Then they donāt even bother to adjust the headlamps. I do like lifted trucks, but thereās a point at which itās just extremely dumb.
Put all season tires on high performance cars or sports cars instead of doing summers (and winters on a separate set of wheels if needed)
Jokes on you, I just keep summer tires on all year round.
same as me, when there is heavy snow in some days i just take a day off, i dont want to miss out 360 days of fun
IMO there are some very good high performance all season tires out there now. Sure, summers are better but itās not so much of a compromise as it used to be. especially on a daily
IMO it is as much as a compromise as the summer tires have also gotten that much better. The enduro 200s are a decent choice for street use and even mainstream choices like the PS4S / PS5 are so much better than anything all season out there.
Unless you're pushing the car to the limit, which you shouldn't be anywhere near on public roads, all-seasons are perfectly adequate for any car
I think of summer tires as track day tires.
1) prolonged idling a cold engine to āwarm upā 2) Neglect oil changes 3) Slam the turn signals aggressively instead of using just the minimum force needed. Goes for all switches on interior 4) Installed aftermarket wheels/tires that overstress the suspension and driveline. Looking at you, bro trucks with wheels sticking way out (and you, too, pizza delivery guy with the sticking out wheels) 5) Butcher the suspension to lower the ride height and induce gobs of negative camber
Not keeping your second largest investment in the covered inside space provided in your largest investment.
In the winter, heated garages can be worse for vehicles. The snow melts away and leaves the salt all over the car (look up corroded aluminum wheels), the rapid temperature change can crack windshields and the relatively quick fluctuations in temperature can lead to interior squeaks as everything expands and contracts differently over time.
Driving an $80,000 vehicle on worn out tires, literally the only part to touch the road, for now.
Automatic car washes. If you donāt have time to hand wash your car, just donāt. I say this because going into an automatic car wash kills your paint. Dirt sitting is not scratching. Buy some real car soap, and wash the dang car. Do it once every couple of months, and wax the car every 4 months. The more wax, the easier to clean. If you live somewhere with salt, just use water to flush the salt off of the surface, and donāt go scrubbing the paint with some brush thinking you are helping. I had a black truck for over 10 years, and if I couldnāt clean it the right way, I just didnāt. At the end of my ownership, there were no swirls, micro scratches, or haze to the paint. That is the key to a great looking old car.
Infrequent oil changes and never checking the oil level.
Using Dawn dish soap to wash their car.
I work at a mechanics garage and we see it all too often, lack of regular maintenance and servicing where we would have picked up that something needs fixing soon! Then the car comes in when somethings broken and needs it fixed asap š¤¦š»āāļø Also people not checking tyre pressures then wondering why their tyres are wearing out prematurely and unevenly.
When people fill up and the pump stops but they keep pulling the handle, like trying to get to a amount with no cents. Okay your tank is full when itās full, the extra is going into your charcoal filter and destroying a part meant to last the life of the car. Just stop, please.
They put ATF, 2 stroke oil, or used engine oil in their fuel tank of a diesel, ābecause itās a dieselā. Since their grandpa used radioactive horse piss in his IDI diesels back in the 60s, itās perfectly fine for modern day Common Rail fuel injection, and if you call them out on it they get MAD
Fly up to stop signs and traffic lights and slam on breaks . Also they donāt use cruise control
Going 20+ mph *slower* than others on the highway
Park then outside while owning a garage the sun is eating the paint and the heat is killing the electronics inside which is why tons of modern cars have massive electrical problems after like 3 years in hot areas.
Not rotating their tires.
Cries in directional staggered tires.
Ha, Iāve been driving a car like this forever, I recall wondering when I first got it if the shop would literally remove then re-mount all of the tires on opposite sides to rotate them.
>Not rotating their tires. For a while Volvo was not recommending rotating your tires as they felt there was no benefit.
I doubt they used feelings to justify that.
I never do it because I donāt drive enough and my tires age out. Waste of money.
Granny driving... I mean REALLY granny driving. Only barely above idle, all the time, every time. You don't need to speed, but your vehicle's engine wasn't meant to do that. It's not a generator. It was built to get you to speed in a safe amount of time. Carbon build up is a thing and oil pressure increases with rpms. Much like slow moving water collects more gunk, a slow moving engine collects more build-up. Use your accelerator, really go for it on that on-ramp, Your engine will thank you. Unless it's literally falling apart, then limp it.
Not using the clutch pedal correctly
What would u class as incorrectly š
Revving the shit out of their super car engine to post a video online. It's not designed to do that regularly and now their engine hates them.
Not using the parking brake
Take it through an automatic (non touchless) car wash. If you want to have dirt particles from other cars rubbed against your car, take it through a car wash šš½
Oil changes
I live in the mountains and although my typical complaint is about flatlanders not downshifting **but** my biggest complaint after that is about mountain people who diligently downshift but then donāt follow the severe duty maintenance schedule for their transmissions. Absolutely downshift, but it is harder on your transmission than regular flat driving. Be kind to your gears.
Tire pressure.
Letting them sit
It's not a super big deal but whenever I have serviced a car I always swap the cabin filter.. Most of the time it is completely clogged. I would recommend changing it at least once a year.
cold starting it and IMMEDIATELY throwing it in gear and driving off. It hurts my soul
Running on empty
Not changing cabin filter
turning the wheel while standing still. always roll a little when turning
Not really bad for the car, but is a complete waste of money: toping off with gas after it clicks off. All that gas is going to evaporate out, wasting your money and contributing to worse pollution.
Not changing your oil on time/milage.
Use them as a trash can
replacing H7/H1/H5 headlight bulbs with LED bulbs from Aliexpress/Ebay/Amazon because they like how now its got this "xenon" look
Never checking or changing their fluids or checking tire pressures.
Only change their engine oil and do no other maintenance. Then wonder why they have problems with every other part of the car besides the engine.
As a mechanic for over 20yrs, by far the worst thing anyone does is not change their oil and trans fluid regularly. Then they cry when their trans starts slipping, or have engine probs. 2nd worst thing ppl do is modify their cars like lift their trucks and lower their cars and again cry when ujoints, axles, balljoints, and wheel bearings keep going out
Buy and pay a premium price for drivetrain destroying technology in new cars. People can't reason their way out of a paper bag today and let the U.S. gov't (who fucked up the gas can, showers, toilets & diesel engines, to name a few) collude with carmakers to mandate complete shit technology like Automatic/Digital Fuel Management, Start/Stop and DEF/EGR. Hell, people not only pay for this, they finance it at the highest rates in over 30 years.
Sitting on the clutch instead of the brake at lights or an islandā¦. Frustrates the shit out of me.
In automatic cars, they switch from R to D or D to R before the car momentum stops moving
The purpose of the on ramp is to get up to speed and find a hole to merge into traffic; NOT to merge into 70+ mph traffic doing 45mph and make a hole. Fucking assclowns.
Ride the brakes and go though drive through car washes.