Men, We Need to Talk About Cars

[big kim]

Basic mechanics is easy stuff,learn how to change engine oil,oil/air filters plugs and tighten fan belts.Also keeping your engine/transmission fluids at the correct level and tyre pressures.Learn how to do body repairs,touch up paint chips,scratches,fill in holes and dents and welding.Depending where you live rust sends more cars to the scrap yard than anything.I live in the UK and rust is a big problem so keeping on top of body work is a big must do.
If you can't do it yourself don't take it to a main dealer unless you have a lot of money.Ask around with people who have the same car and they should be able to tell you someone who does good work at a reasonable price

[Keaira]

I know how to change Sparkplugs, install a cold air intake, change a tire, install bumpers and other body components, switch out the full headlight and tail light assemblies, Install speakers and stereo systems, switch out and install seats...... I suppose it would be easier to say I dont do engine swaps, new exausts, and transmissions. You can learn a thing or two just by doing with family or a Haynes manual
Jet Engines on the other hand I do know. ^_^

[Erik Ezrin]

I love karting and race games, but frankly I know really little about cars, lol. Okay, I know how an engine (basically) works, what spark plugs, cilinders, etc. are, but no way I can pinpoint them under the hood, leave alone I can FIX them! Lol.
I contribute it to my lazyness and lack of a CAR under my possession. I'm 18, but I don't have a driver's licence yet, nor am I taking lessons. My parents told me they'd either pay my study OR lessons + exam for a driver's licence, so then it wasn't too difficult to choose, lol. And I don't have money to pay it myself.
So although I know a bit about basic mechanics, I lack the practical knowledge to properly check or fix a car.

I really like Top Gear though, but you don't have to like cars to like it, LOL! And I also like big racing/muscle cars, but even if I could pay one I'd never own one either, cause they are VERY bad for the environment, and yep... I'm quite an environment nut too.

[Keaira]

Come on guys! this is embarrassing! It looks to me like the chicks are blowing you guys off the road with car knowledge.

You have to know something. Everywhere I've worked, at some point, 3 things have come up in conversation with male colleagues and friends: Cars, Women and Hunting. So if you own a car, get to know it. read the owner's manual or read owner reviews and learn your model's quirks and bad points. If you don't own a car, go to a lot and look at different makes and models. Everyone has a dream car. Mine is an '88 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z in red with the T-Tops. Now go look that up. Learn about it.


Find your dream car, post it here and tell us why you like it.
Find a buddy to help you learn about cars. I'm sure any of us women who have posted on here would be happy to answer questions. It's not about creating stereotypes here. It's about giving you the knowledge to deal with car talk. Have something you can talk about instead of a blank look.

[DriftingCrow]

Find your dream car, post it here and tell us why you like it

'65 red Mustang. I love classic cars, and I used to have a '04 Mustang anni edition, V-6, and I loved it (my dad has it now, see, I am really nice and traded him for a '01 four cylinder Ford Focus). It was really fast for a 6 cylinder. I just really like mustangs, and I'd love to get another one of any year again. I tend to like older stuff



I also like the '76 Pontiac trans am with the firebird, because of the Kill Bill movies. Elle was just so hot driving it (I think she had an '80). 

[ErinM]

Basic mechanics is easy stuff,learn how to change engine oil,oil/air filters plugs and tighten fan belts.Also keeping your engine/transmission fluids at the correct level and tyre pressures.Learn how to do body repairs,touch up paint chips,scratches,fill in holes and dents and welding.Depending where you live rust sends more cars to the scrap yard than anything.I live in the UK and rust is a big problem so keeping on top of body work is a big must do.
If you can't do it yourself don't take it to a main dealer unless you have a lot of money.Ask around with people who have the same car and they should be able to tell you someone who does good work at a reasonable price

One of the best investments you can make is to get yourself a repair manual specific to your car model and year. I recommend Haynes. They show you step by step with pictures how to do your own repairs.

[DriftingCrow]

Oh good, I'll check out Haynes, I need pictures to do stuff.

[A]

My parents told me they'd either pay my study OR lessons + exam for a driver's licence, so then it wasn't too difficult to choose, lol.

The heck. I don't think I would offer that kind of choice. "To hell with my studies, I wanna work in a factory but get there in a CAR." - "Darling, what have we done?"

Edit: What is this? Auto-censorship for selected bad words? I feel like I'm playing an online game with doubtful design decisions.

[Teela Renee]

while on the topic of car's can anyone recommend a good oil leak stopper that isnt gonna gunk up my engine really bad?

just making sure this didnt get missed/looked over.

[big kim]

just making sure this didnt get missed/looked over.

New gasket/seals/O ring is the cure.It depends were the leak is from,easy leaks to repair are valve covers and split breather hoses and pipes.Transmission leaks can be hard to fix,especially where the gearbox fixes to the engine as it means splitting them apart.A gasket or seal is very cheap but the labour cost by a garage working by the hour will be much larger.

[big kim]

Come on guys! this is embarrassing! It looks to me like the chicks are blowing you guys off the road with car knowledge.

You have to know something. Everywhere I've worked, at some point, 3 things have come up in conversation with male colleagues and friends: Cars, Women and Hunting. So if you own a car, get to know it. read the owner's manual or read owner reviews and learn your model's quirks and bad points. If you don't own a car, go to a lot and look at different makes and models. Everyone has a dream car. Mine is an '88 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z in red with the T-Tops. Now go look that up. Learn about it.


Find your dream car, post it here and tell us why you like it.
Find a buddy to help you learn about cars. I'm sure any of us women who have posted on here would be happy to answer questions. It's not about creating stereotypes here. It's about giving you the knowledge to deal with car talk. Have something you can talk about instead of a blank look.

My favourite car which I can't post pictures of is the 67/68 Mercury Cougar, I love the hidden headlamps and the sequential tailights Inside it has nice leather seats and a wooden dashboard and door cappings,it's also a sensible size for UK roads and parking spaces/garages and if fitted with a small block V8 engine and  driven carefully gives reasonable mileage. Great looks and plenty of performance and luxury/comfort.My first proper boyfriend had a black cherry 68 with a 302 V8 4 barrel and automatic box although I wanted one when I saw a new lime frost green one near a USAF base as a kid

[Ltl89]

Hey, this thread is sexist!  Women shouldn't be excluded

I'll have you know that I under plenty of things about cars.  For example..... uh I can drive one and....... they go vrom vrom.  So there!

[Keaira]

Oooh! Learnedhand, Big Kim, great choice in cars. I've wanted an IROC-Z since I was 8 years old and this show was on:

When I look at the real world vehicles that the toys were based on, I keep thinking how much a live-action movie would be.
80's cartoons had a lot of influence over me. lol. I call my Shotgun, 'Sarah Jane' because it was the name of a shotgun carried by Bravestarr's sidekick, 30/30

[Danielle Emmalee]

This used to be my dream car: 1979 Red Chevrolet Corvette

Then it changed to this: 1957 whatever color this is Chevrolet Corvette

Then it changed to this: 2004 Mazda RX-8 with Lambo doors

And now it's this: 2013 Lamborghini Aventador

[Danielle Emmalee]

Oh yeah, why I like them.  I like the way they look and they go fast.

[DriftingCrow]

Oh those are nice cars Alice. One of my co-worker's father just got a reddish Corvette, not sure the year but in the 2000s. It was so nice I think I'd be afraid to drive it, but she took it to work and was itching all day to go on a nice field trip down so long winding roads lol. 

[Danielle Emmalee]

I got to drive my step-mom's BMW Z4



You know that thing where people don't move out of the passing lane when you come up behind them?  Doesn't happen in this car.  I've never driven anything like it before, it was just so easy to drive.

ahhh passing privilege.  Can be so nice, no matter which context you put it in.

[Renee]

Not my dream car, but of all the ones I've had, it was my favorite.


A '77 tbird, still with the good old working 8 track player it came with and original paint job.




and that first picture was a few years after this picture during Hurricane Isabel in '03.



It took me about 2 days and a $100 to get it back to good running shape and everything working. Luckily I cut the battery cable before the salt water got too high, so even the starter worked fine after a good washing and drying, lol.

[Keaira]

There's been a lot of cars I liked but while I was working for Valeo Sylvania making headlights and tail lights, they began to remind me of my job and since I hated the job and the design of the molds and all the defects that I dealt with, I would cus at them every time I passed them. I have some decent bragging rights though. I worked on the newer Ford Mustangs lighting, Jeep Grand Cherokee (Including the latest model) Toyota Rav 4, Cadillac STX or SXT or whatever its called, Toyota Matrix (I hate that car so much because of the headlight bezels alone. I even told a Toyota Engineer that if I ever won a Toyota Matrix I would set it on fire and drive over it with a very large pickup truck multiple times than ever get in one of those.) And shortly before I left I worked on the 2014 Corvette, Silverado and Malibu. So, I know more about cars than I thought I would and wanted. lol

[WFane]

The best advice I can give is to check the manual for your car. In the back, there's a maintenance schedule. When I found this, all of a sudden, my yearly budget increased by at least 2K. Basically, look at the maintenance schedule, skip ahead, figure out what all the things are that need to be changed, maintained, and rotated. Then go to google and figure that stuff out! After that, everything that can break down and be done by a mechanic is something that really SHOULD be done by a mechanic (Welding, changing out major parts, etc.)

Also, buy foreign cars. Parts, maintenance, and other things are generally cheaper and interchangeable between brands.