If you’re anything like me, you probably have drawers full of obscure tools bought for maintenance on vehicles you no longer own. Need a stator puller for a mid-80’s Honda CB motor? I’ve got one. How about an 8mm carb balancing tool? Got that, too. Electronic carb synchronizer? Check.

There are some tools, however, that no gear head should be without. Some get used all the time, while others are there just in case. I’m skipping over the obvious stuff like good sets of combination wrenches, sockets, extensions, screwdrivers and pliers; if you don’t already have these, you can’t really consider yourself a gear head, now can you?

Here’s my list, but feel free to tell me yours:

Inspired by my current quest for a sub-$5,000 daily driver, I’ve decided to publish a companion piece to the generalized buyer’s tips I outlined months ago specifically geared towards purchasing from Craigslist. Unlike other digital automotive marketplaces (Vehix, AutoTrader, etc) Craigslist provides the unique opportunity to find both rare treasures and immensely entertaining, often poorly executed scams. As a matter of fact, so prevalent is the latter it would likely be prudent to offer a few tips to avoid losing your shirt to the crown prince of Nigeria, but if the giant banner at the top of the auto classifieds proclaiming “OFFERS TO SHIP CARS ARE 100% FRAUDULENT” doesn’t serve as enough of a warning, you should probably be sterilized. So, moving on.

The first and most solid piece of advice I can offer is this: lower your standards. If you’re shopping for a used car with the same kind of operating budget that I am then your search is going to be not entirely unlike that of the skeezy guy/fat chick’s at the single’s bar. Your options are going to be limited, so you can’t afford to be too picky. At this stage in the game (10+ years old, 100k-ish miles), barring any miraculous discovery of a Granny-driven, garage-kept Benz, the cars that you’ll be looking at will have seen much better days. The “Service” indicator will probably be stuck on because the local garage didn’t have the right code reader needed to turn it off, there’ll be a couple dings from lost battles in cramped parking garages, and the leather might be ripped from where the K-9 unit started smelled the coke. What you need to determine is which defects you’re willing to let slide and which ones will be a deal breaker. For example, I need: air conditioning, a tape deck, no leaks, and rear windows that roll all the way down. I can live with: blood stains, minor dents, and awful aftermarket rims. I can also live with a wealthy beneficiary whose willing to buy me a decommissioned military-spec Gelandewagen and/or a Land Rover Defender…but I digress.

My second piece of advice is equally as simplistic as the first: get a clue. Kbb.com and Edmunds.com offer excellent used car appraisal services – use them. I’ve found that often times owners will demonstrate a particular soft spot for their aging piece of crap by pricing it for thousands more than it’s worth, so it pays to be aware of exactly how delusional a seller may or may not be. With the ‘93 Volvo 240 I discussed below, the seller wanted literally double what the vehicle was worth – though to be fair that wasn’t so much an example of die-hard loyalty as it was a blatant rip-off. At any rate, the likelihood that you’ll run into a comically priced vehicle on Craigslist is actually much higher than if you’d gone the dealership route since most of these guys have a personal attachment to their rides. Keep this in mind when you march in to meet them with your KBB print out in hand and try not to piss all over their hard work. Gently yet firmly explain to them how much the vehicle is worth, how much you’re willing to pay, and if all else fails offer to perform sexual favors. I jest, of course. You should offer the favors up front.

What could be more American than stuffing your face with mass-produced chocolate bars and then entering to win a modern-day musclecar, the 2010 Chevy Camaro? They’re both full of empty calories but a lot of fun, so why not indulge? After all, the Camaro didn’t exactly come in as a featherweight, what, with all of the brake balancing weights haphazardly glued all over the rotors like some sort of cracked-out kindergarden art project. But hey, the car is unabashadly badass, and who the hell doesn’t like chocolate? As long as you can keep your diabetes in control it’s a combination made in heaven. And seeing as how it’s built to fit our good ol’ cornfed bodies, you shouldn’t have to go on a vitamin-water-and-glue-huffing diet to fit in the damn thing. Hop on over to Hershey’s to enter, and of course, no purchase is required.

They Write About Cars, We Write About Them!

I’m on a mission. I want to get a subscription to a car magazine, but I don’t know which one to get. I asked friends, but got a different answer from each one. So, I decided to just get an issue or two of each and read them. Then, based on what I read and the subscription price, I would decide on one. So you, my faithful readers, will get to benefit from all of my hard reading.

Automobile

Automobile was started in 1986, making it the youngest of the US car magazines. Started by David E. Davis and a handful of Car and Driver (read our Car and Driver review here) defectors, Automobile is more focused on the automotive lifestyle than just cars themselves. They do reviews, but not all of their articles are about cars, which can be disappointing. What isn’t disappointing is the photography which is easily the best of all the magazines we’ve reviewed.

They Write About Cars, We Write About Them!

I’m on a mission. I want to get a subscription to a car magazine, but I don’t know which one to get. I asked friends, but got a different answer from each one. So, I decided to just get an issue or two of each and read them. Then, based on what I read and the subscription price, I would decide on one. So you, my faithful readers, will get to benefit from all of my hard reading.

Motor Trend

One of the oldest and most revered of the buff books, Motor Trend started in 1949. Known mostly for its Car and Truck of the Year awards, this is probably the most influential North American car magazine. Car companies, desperate for good press on their products, are willing to do whatever it takes to get Motor Trend to like their cars and trucks. I would not be surprised if Angus Mackenzie, Arthur St. Antoine, and Matt Stone were given their choice of booth “professionals” at every Detroit Auto Show or Geneva Auto Salon.

I have officially experienced super-envy. My buddy Andy called my a few weeks ago to tell me he was popping over to Germany on a whim to drive the Nürburgring. Worst part? He did it for less than two week’s pay. Here is his story.

Your Hummer H2 is bathed in dust from a weekend spent crushing Burning Man attendees for sport. What do you do? These 10 easy steps will help you make your unnecessarily expensive, superfluous, and impractical vehicle represent who you are as a person: shallow and self-important. Oh, and clean.

Mother’s Day is almost here. If you recall, you still aren’t forgiven for spray painting racing stripes on your first hand-me-down Honda Accord. And let’s be honest, you went downhill from there. A card is just not going to cut it this year. What Mom needs is a new whip. Even if you can’t swing a single payment on her behalf, what you can do is the research. Here are ten great cars for dear old Mom.

In the world of car sales, knowledge is power. With a litany of online resources, consumer advocacy articles and research abound, it’s easy to arm yourself to the teeth before making that bold venture out to the lots. But as long as there are car sales, there will be car salesmen. A good one will have you analyzed and categorized within 5 minutes. Here’s how you can do the same.

As we mentioned during the introduction to our beginner’s course, Road Rage 101: How To Piss Off Other Drivers, poor driving isn’t an obvious side effect of limited cerebral capacity, but rather the result of countless hours of feverish, committed practice. Although drivers in places like New Jersey make it look effortless, the fact remains that dangerous, often illegal driving habits require fastidious dedication to the craft, and we here at RideLust are determined to help. To begin, you must first honestly asses your personal ability. If you feel as though you’ve successfully mastered all of the lessons outlined in Road Rage 101, or you have at least 5 years experience regularly commuting in the Tri-State area, you might be ready to graduate to an intermediate level of douchebaggery. However, be forewarned: the upper tier of jackassedness is an elite circle open only to those who have demonstrated an unfailing dedication to inciting blind road rage. If you still feel truly prepared to assume the responsibility of serving as an ambassador of the asinine, please proceed to study the advanced tactics we’ve outlined below.