Bought my youngest daughter a car

[Ihatetochangeoil]

I do recall that. Someone trusting me to work on a vehicle at a professional level & not rip them off is different than me giving someone their ASKING price for a used vehicle that's been sitting for 2 years.....That I can't test drive & could have turned out to be a real turd.

That was a risk on my part as I paid for the car BEFORE I repaired it enough to get it home & still needs a plethora of repairs before I would consider it roadworthy.

Sir, I am in another profession altogether and ethics matter. I do not have your skill set, as I am a boiler inspector for several different power plants, but I'm also a father with a young daughter who just bought her first car. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/1st-oil-change-on-daughters.344235/
IMHO, you did nothing wrong or unethical; congratulations on your score! My question might be....Does your daughter have any understanding of what you just did for her?

 

[doitmyself]

Excellent discourse gentlemen and kudos to a responsible resolution.

There is always a gray area for both the buyer and seller regarding disclosure, risks, honesty, integrity, etc.. I.E., If I were selling a vehicle that is operating fine, but has a known history of possible future problems, I don't feel it is my responsibility to point that out to the buyer (buyer beware). As pointed out above, clinebarger accepted a certain amount of risk also (as is).

All's well that ends well.

LOL, there is an excellent Andy Griffith episode concerning the ethics surrounding disclosure of selling/buying (their home, in this case).

 

[JeffKeryk]

I have been in a similar sitution. I bought a broken down car from a friend. The driveshaft was disconnected from the rear end and the flange was damaged.
2 bolts allowed me to drive the car. He was pissed but not at me. There was additional parts and work to get the car roadworthy and I knew that. I explained what I did and what I thought I needed to do.

Education and knowledge are bought and paid for. A deal is a deal.

 

[Job]

If not you, another buyer would have tire kicked them down to take lower. Nothing wrong done there. It isn’t like real estate where crooks make low offers to senior citizens all cash etc, and they actually do get, steal, houses that way way under what they are worth.
I know a lady in her seventies. I used to walk by her Terrain and wow that thing is nice I wonder if she ever wants to sell it. Then she had another car , and I asked where the old one went. She said it had some problem turning off while running and the mechanic said it is impossible to fix. I asked how much she sold it for. She said she sold it to them for scrap. This is not a wealthy person either.

 

[JTK]

What a find and a perfect first car.

Glad it all worked out.

 

[gregk24]

Nice score! These seem to be reliable enough.

 

[xgmad]

Hey if the seller had that price, that is the price, is capitalism, you sell , someone buys

 

[clinebarger]

Got some stuff done today.....

Started out by airing up the flat tire, It wouldn't take air as the bead had broke loose, Pulled the car back off the flat spot & got it to take air.
Took it straight to the car wash for a good rinse & to scare any Brown Recluse's away, Tire was near flat by the time I got back.

Racked the car on my lift......

Let the air out of the tires one at a time to see if they correlated to the learned position in the Tire Pressure Monitor.....They were not.....They were cross rotated at one point.
Marked each one with a Sharpie so they get put back in the learned position.

Pulled all 4 wheels, Buffed the mounting pad of each wheel which weren't to terribly bad but still needed it.

Loaded up my 4 new Michelin's & the Rim's/Tire's from the car into my truck & headed down to Texas Tire #9. I use this location cause they have a brand new Hunter Road Force Balancer & the personnel is usually halfway competent.

Well.....The manager was there by himself & had 3 people call-in "sick", Thankfully I got there right as he opened at 10am. But he was fighting getting a locking lugnut off a Honda Accord.
It was killing me watching him struggle so much with some wore out "Turbo Sockets". He was hammering them on with little baby taps. I said "Let me help you"
I got the socket started with a few light taps....Then I wailed on it about 3 times with his baby 2 pound sledge. Don't think he knew that hammer could do that .
It spun right off with the impact. He gets a new tire on the Accord fairly quickly.

I can tell at this point that he knows just enough to struggle/stagger though this, He had to break the beads in 4 or 5 places.
He would run the rim clamp out to much before putting the rim on the table & have to run it back in.
Got the spoon under the bead & stop/start several times while rolling it off.
Was pretty smooth putting the new tire on.....But he took the assembly off the table to seat the beads.....Never seen a tire man do that. I was taught to put the Beans to it with the air & lift up on the tire while the rim was still clamped on the table to seat the bead.

The balancer is pretty much idiot proof, Or so I thought.
The first tire called for 2 ounces on the inside.......I had to speak up with "Little 16" Michelin's don't take that much to balance", Then I saw he didn't take the old weights off. That one took a 1/4 ounce weight to balance. The next one took no weights at all, Next was 3/4 ounce, The last took 1/2 ounce.
When I was installing the wheels....The one that had 3/4 ounce weight had a old weight carcass on the rim....He got the lead off but not the steel backer. I left it alone.
The good thing is....He didn't charge me a dime & disposed of the old tires.


Got back to shop around Noon.....

Started on the front brakes, New Rotors & Pads, Cleaned the Hubs up real well, New Hardware, Cleaned up the Bracket where the Hardware sits, Cleaned & lubed the Slide Pins which were still in good shape.

Pulled the rear drums & cleaned the Shoes & Hardware...Emory Clothed the friction surface of the drums a little, Buffed clean where the wheels seat against the drum. Shoes look like new & didn't require any adjustment.

Flushed a gallon of Brake Fluid through the system using my 8 Quart MightyVac evacuator.

Applied some Antiseize to the wheel studs & torqued the wheel down to 80 foot pounds.


Drained the oil, Had a reddish/Amber tint to it, Swapped out the Cartridge Filter......It had a GM/Hengst Filter in it that looked pretty good.
Mobil 1 5w30 back in.

Needed about 8 ounces of Dexcool to bring the coolant level to full, Filled the Washer reservoir up....It works well, But needs Wiper Blades.

Transmission was full, Will Drain & Fill another day.

Decided not to do any Cooling System repairs today......Going to change the Water Pump at the same time (Probably next week) along with the Trans Fluid.

Having to rely on others to mount/Balance the tires really ate up my day unfortunately.


Drove it @40 miles to get the Readiness Monitors ready, Put $25 worth of Premium Fuel in it. (Don't fill the tank when trying to get the EVAP monitor to ready).
Need a second cold start for the O2 Heater & Evap monitor to ready.

Have my own Authorized Agent Tag from each of the car lots I do work for, Called one & got permission to use it. Car has insurance. Should be able to Inspect & Tag this week.

 

[JHZR2]

Looks like a good deal, but what would you theoretically be in for it if all the parts were retail, and labor was figured in?

Blown fuses of those sizes concern me, especially with something relatively safety critical like steering assist.

 

[GON]

Your knowledge at the tire shop paid huge dividends. What happens to the other 99 percent of Americans who do not have your knowledge needing service.

I am no mechanic- far from it, but rather do my own work and figure it out than trust others. I am not even confident when I send my MB to the dealer for a transmission fluid exchange, that they actually perform the task.....

BTW- love the car you bought your Daughter. It is low mileage, apparently a Texas car. I don't see it as being tired whatsoever. After you bring it up to your standards- I doubt you will have issues with it... except oil and filter changes...

 

[JeffKeryk]

Applied some Antiseize to the wheel studs & torqued the wheel down to 80 foot pounds.

Right ON! I thought I was the only one who applied a little antiseize, or at least who would cop to it.
Just a little wisp across the cleaned threads...

 

[01rangerxl]

Blown fuses of those sizes concern me, especially with something relatively safety critical like steering assist.

It seems like this is often the result of improper jumping. You'd think people would be able to figure it out, but I hear about it being related to jumping a battery a lot.

Guess it makes sense when I see cars dead on the side of the road (was driving till it wasn't) and people are trying to get them going with jumper cables.

 

[clinebarger]

Your knowledge at the tire shop paid huge dividends. What happens to the other 99 percent of Americans who do not have your knowledge needing service.

I am no mechanic- far from it, but rather do my own work and figure it out than trust others. I am not even confident when I send my MB to the dealer for a transmission fluid exchange, that they actually perform the task.....

BTW- love the car you bought your Daughter. It is low mileage, apparently a Texas car. I don't see it as being tired whatsoever. After you bring it up to your standards- I doubt you will have issues with it... except oil and filter changes...

Well....The manager was stuck there by himself & doesn't work out in the shop....He runs the counter & makes sure the Tire Tech's have what they need.

Many businesses are struggling with absenteeism & being short staffed.....It was an issue before they gave every Tom, ****, & Harry Unemployment Benefits. Now it's a epidemic.

My nephew has never worked a day in his life & got Unemployment., Hope he ends-up in the "Booty House" for it as I warned him not to.

 

[clinebarger]

Looks like a good deal, but what would you theoretically be in for it if all the parts were retail, and labor was figured in?

Blown fuses of those sizes concern me, especially with something relatively safety critical like steering assist.

I'd guess @ $2,500 + $850 for the car, And $800 for TTL, Not that most people would change all the problematic cooling system parts, Probably run the front brakes & put Cheap/Used tire's on??

I'll probably end up putting @3000 miles on this car before she takes over. I put a Amp Clamp on the main cable & the steering cable....Didn't see any issues.
Got about 250 miles on it now, I must admit.....I'd drive it everyday if I had too. The seat actually moves back far enough for my long legs which is unusual in this segment. I have a Corolla & Civic in the family & can't stand driving them mostly cause the seat won't move back enough.

 

[clinebarger]

Right ON! I thought I was the only one who applied a little antiseize, or at least who would cop to it.
Just a little wisp across the cleaned threads...

Just a little bit like you.....I've done it for long as I can remember.

 

[JHZR2]

I'd guess @ $2,500 + $850 for the car, And $800 for TTL, Not that most people would change all the problematic cooling system parts, Probably run the front brakes & put Cheap/Used tire's on??

I'll probably end up putting @3000 miles on this car before she takes over. I put a Amp Clamp on the main cable & the steering cable....Didn't see any issues.
Got about 250 miles on it now, I must admit.....I'd drive it everyday if I had too. The seat actually moves back far enough for my long legs which is unusual in this segment. I have a Corolla & Civic in the family & can't stand driving them mostly cause the seat won't move back enough.

Good point about the legroom. I always found those cars comfortable because of how they were laid out, compared especially to similar Japanese cars.

 

[BrianF]

What? Cline, you don't love the sound, feel and smell of breaking rusted lug nuts free at the most inopportune times?

Glad others do it as well. Never had one loosen, had a wheel fly off but it sure helps when they need to come off.

 

[Gimpy1]

I own a Auto Repair Garage & pride myself on being as ethical as possible, But I wasn't there in that capacity....Just a father trying to get the best car I could for my dollar.

Nothing you did was unethical, there will always be someone that judges other wth a holier than thou attitude. Based on your posts I think you are one of the most honest and ethical shop owners in Ft. Worth, and I'm familiar with a ton of shops because Ft. Worth used to be part of my territory when I was a field appraiser.

 

[meep]

Nice find, nice work, nice ride for your daughter. its a great size for a new driver to park at school, negotiate traffic, and has modern safety equipment. Very nice find. And the DIY labor rewards the effort.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

What bothers me is how a car that is only 6 years old and has only 66,000 miles got in such shape in the first place. Good job getting it running and on the road.