Oil changes, engine lights, windshield wiper fluid, bulb replacement and batteries. There, I just banged out six different quick and easy DIY jobs for your automobile. Dealers and local garages have been making a bloody mint off people since the automobile was created over 100 years ago. Jobs that may look daunting at first, can sometimes be much easier than you think. Hell, for some you may not even need any tools.
Over the next few months Ridelust.com is going to putting up a few things that may help you save a couple of bucks the next time your car is in need of some maintenance. First up… the dreaded oil change. In all honesty changing your own oil really is pretty easy, granted you may get a bit grungy when all is said and done, but do it right and it should take you no more than 25 minutes. Although a bit hokey, the video above is actually pretty entertaining as well as being downright informative. I’d recommend leaving the beer out of the equation until everything is buttoned-up. Then when you’re finished, go inside, hit the couch and celebrate with a cold one… I like Michelob.
Every now and again my brain wanders with visions of driving an old car as my daily driver. I mean how cool would it be to cruise the streets everyday in a classic Chevelle, Charger or Mustang. People constantly giving you the thumbs up, you’d feel like a rock star at every stoplight and valets would always give you the prime spots. I mean hell, if you’re going to go out and drop 25 or 30 large on a new Mustang or Challenger why not get the original right? Before you consider doing this, however, take heed because I’ve been down this road and want to give ya’ll some real world impressions about driving that classic everyday.
I tried doing this last year for over a month in my modified 1968 Dodge Charger. I started on July 20th and finished up on August 25, 2009 and in that time I logged just under 6000 miles… not bad for one months worth of driving. The reason for all those miles was one big ass road trip around the continental United States. I even rigged my baby out with all the conveniences of a new car by installing navigation, satellite radio, a new comfy interior and even a CB radio.
Throughout that entire month I never encountered one problem as the car ran beautifully. Going back to the above paragraph I can safely say that we were indeed the highlight of every stoplight, intersection and destination that we traveled too. Inquiries and comments a plenty were thrown at us and hell, we even got on the local news a few times. So with that being said, would I drive a classic everyday? The answer is simple… no.
While I had a wonderful time driving my old sled, I have to say that by the end of everyday it was exhausting albeit a bit nerve racking. The main ingredient that new cars have over the classics is 42 years of technology and innovation. Yes, new cars do essentially the same things as old cars, but they do it in much different ways. Things like ride quality, interior cabin noise and safety are leaps and bounds over the classics and don’t even get me started on fuel economy. One must also consider possible breakdowns and parts availability as some items are simply not available any more. Ask anyone whose ever tried to find a replacement grill for a ‘68 Charger… it’s a total bitch as well as being SUPER expensive. Maintenance on the classics is a bit cheaper (especially if you’re DIY’er) but will be more frequent than on a new car.
What it all comes down to in the end though is this: new cars are just that… new. They look new, smell new and perform like new. They come with such wonderful things as a warranty, good fuel economy and air conditioning. They’re also safe, quiet and reliable. Where old cars are cool, new cars are practical. Where old cars are a thrill ride, new cars are a safe ride and where old cars look great, new cars just perform great. In the end it is obviously up to the individual to make this decision. Just a word of advice though from someone whose been there.
Buy new, drive safe and get from point A to B without any drama. Just make sure however you have that extra spot in the garage to put that four wheeled dream in when the time comes.
The Red Green Show officially went off the air in 2006, but the indelible legacy it left on DIY gearheads lives on and to this day, duct tape is second only to Bondo as the destitute crowd’s favorite repair tool. Among those most heavily influenced by Red Green’s jury rigging is a member of RideLust’s own staff (who shall remain nameless) that attempted a half-assed repair job of their own on an aging Volvo. Hilarity later ensued at the inspection station (followed immediately by a rejection sticker) and in honor of the laughs they elicited we’ve assembled an assortment of our favorite moments in Possum Lodge engineering.
The accelerator pedal, right, in a 2010 Toyota Avalon is seen on the show room floor of Bobby Rahal Toyota in Mechanicsburg, Pa. , Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009.
When the news of Toyota’s spontaneously accelerating vehicles first broke, it was in the form of a grisly accident in Texas involving a Lexus, a jammed accelerator pedal, and 3 unfortunate fatalities. In response to the outcry immediately following the accident Toyota released a 3.8 million vehicle recall, pinning the primary source of the problem on improperly secured floor mats. Suspecting something significantly more sinister at play, a class-action lawsuit sprung up in California alleging that the problem was not with wayward accessories but rather an intrinsic, and fatal, design flaw.
Today, just a few short weeks after the lawsuit was filed, Toyota has recalled the same group of vehicles affected by the flighty floor mats for a different issue: misshapen accelerator pedals. Apparently, Toyota reached the conclusion that jerry-rigging the floor mats was not enough to eliminate the problem entirely and although they have not admitted to any faulty engineering, they do appear to be treating the issue with considerably more severity. In addition to reconfiguring the shape of the accelerator pedal in all vehicles recalled (which includes the bulk of the current line-up), Toyota will also install a brake override system in Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES 350, IS 350 and IS 250 models.
If you would have been swayed to purchase a new Chrysler product because of its promise of a “Lifetime Powertrain” Warranty, you are now out of luck. After consulting with their dealership network, Chrysler announced this week that it is dropping this incentive in favor of an alternate, and shorter powertrain guarantee.
Today, Volkswagen of American announced a voluntary recall on 13,500 VW models equipped with a DSG transmission. Accordingly, a faulty temperatures sensor in the DSG transmission could cause phantom warning lamps to illuminate on the dashboard. In what VW stresses are very rare instances, the malfunction could also cause the transmission to shift into neutral.
The models affected include the Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GTI, and Eos manufactured between September 2008 and August 2009, which includes primarily 2009 MY and a very small percentage of 2010 MY vehicles.
It’s that time again. Rust or Lust is back, and while we approved of the refined SC300 last week, this week we’re looking at a totally different animal – the last of the F-body Camaros. Better crank up the AC/DC and bust out your muscle shirt, because we’re taking a quick trip down the Highway to Hell.
This real-life tale of mechanical ennui is brought to you today by my buddy Alec, via gmail chat, concerning a little encounter he had with a neighbor downstairs.
Not the actual car ...
Alec: So I have a new neighbor downstairs. I ran into her outside the place this morning, with the hood of her car open. I asked her what was up, she said the temperature gauge was really high. so first, I looked at her coolant: not even a drop. Then, I thought, I wonder what the oil looks like: pull the dipstick, and it was bone dry. she says, “yeah, I have this free fluids change deal from my dealership, I guess I should get around to that one of these days…”
The rather uncomfortable staging of this poor girl by the wheel well of a Mustang is a startling reminder of one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of car ownership. No, not the harmful effects of self-tanners on paint or the misuse of scissor doors on a Ford, but proper tire selection. Surely our Ridelust readership does not need to be reminded that a quality set of rubber is easily the most cost-effective way to add performance to your car. But as young Misty here can no doubt confirm by her vantage point, tire manufacturer Vredestein provides one of the more striking examples with their Ultrac Sessanta summer tire .
Hot on the heels of all of the novel incentive programs instituted by major automakers (“We’ll buy back your car if you become unemployed or if your half-brother’s girlfriend doesn’t like the color!”), Valvoline announces their newest program: guaranteeing your engine for 300,000 miles if you use their oil. Make the jump to read all of the juicy details.
At Least SRTs Are Now Covered 
