this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2025
479 points (98.2% liked)

Comic Strips

15340 readers
1192 users here now

Comic Strips is a community for those who love comic stories.

The rules are simple:

Web of links

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Nougat@fedia.io 114 points 2 months ago (4 children)

That's not how that works. The shop has to provide you with an estimated bill that you have to approve before they'll even start working on it.

[–] GrumpyDuckling@sh.itjust.works 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Depends on the laws in your state

It's also not uncommon for them to tell you that your car needs all this work because mechanics generally get paid on flatrate, so they're always trying to get more work. A lot of mechanics double dip on labor hours. Replace a brake caliper and get a brake flush. Well, they already had to bleed the brakes when they did the caliper and they're not going to bother bleeding all four, they'll just put clean fluid in the reservoir and you'll never know.

[–] Admetus@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 months ago

Yep, inspect is normally £20-£40, they give you the cost of repair and it stays at that cost. If they discover yet another problem, they don't force you to undergo the repair.

It is permitted for non-certified (MOT) cars to go to and from a mechanic so you can space out repairs over a month or more if needed.

Source: my friend bought a decades old Volvo so he tends to have LOTS of trouble keeping it in a reasonable state on his general wages.

[–] dan@upvote.au 65 points 2 months ago (2 children)

The actual solution is to reduce dependence on cars.

[–] javasux@lemmy.world 16 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Well, the actual solution is to abolish Capitalism...

[–] dan@upvote.au 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's a lot more difficult than investing in alternatives to cars.

[–] GenosseFlosse@feddit.org 8 points 2 months ago

Well it's get easier the more guillotines are set up in the town squares...

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 35 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The moment every car owner dreads.

[–] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)
[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

"why do I have all these parts left over?"

[–] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 months ago

Weight reduction

[–] Saint_La_Croix_Crosse@midwest.social 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

eh, you can save money that way, but there are still repairs that the expense is majority parts.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

$4k gets a couple more beaters off marketplace. But you gotta know what to look for and live in a state lax intersection rules.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] venusaur@lemmy.world 23 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Unfortunately new cars are more difficult to repair than older cars. Community mechanic shops and education need to be more common.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Community mechanic shops and education need to be more common.

Nah, what you need is fewer cars and to not depend on them to stay alive.

[–] IzzyScissor@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress. Those mechanic shops can transition to working on trains, bikes, EVs, etc. We can do both.

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

IMO, I can't see how making progress on car maintainability would be easier than on car dependency.

One depends on local politics, the other on national (or maybe even national to a foreign nation) politics or somehow convincing a global oligopolist to lose a bit of money to help your cause.

But if you want to work on it, good luck and all the power to you. Don't stop just because another problem exists.

[–] IzzyScissor@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

Oh, I'm not trying to say either are going to be easy, but they both have their individual benefits and there's some overlap. Having more community-based knowledge of internal combustion engines could still help people switch to motorcycles as a start.

You also never know when someone will make a connection that's never been thought of before, and completely change how we think about transportation, and the more knowledge in more people's hands, the better.

Just trying to say it's a "Yes, and" situation.

[–] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Cars will never and should never go away completely, even if they become nothing more than a niche hobbyist thing.

In any case, we very much need and want and should have community mechanic shops and education. A friendly repair cafe is always a good idea.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

right to repair needs to come faster, my fucking malibu needs to have the front bumper be partially removed in order to change the headlight. Yea let's risk cracking the bumper to change a headlight. Really nice.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] GrabtharsHammer@lemmy.world 22 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Bill in dollars and you're going Far far away? Lol not without your car

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 18 points 2 months ago (3 children)

!fuckcars@lemmy.world

!micromobility@lemmy.world

Also, learn to repair your own car or at least do basic maintenance if you absolutely have to rely on a car. It can save you a lot of money and much of it is surprisingly easy (sometimes this depends on what car you have though). Oil changes on my car cost $70-80 in a shop but if I did it myself it was closer to $40 and the whole thing maybe took 30 minutes.

[–] rcbrk@lemmy.ml 26 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

popular mechanics 1963 tip, depicting the disposal of used engine oil into a gravel filled hole in the ground
(Please don't do this. Pour the old oil into the empty container and return it to the store for responsible disposal, or municipal hazardous waste facility, or whatever scheme exists in your location)

[–] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 months ago

Ahh, 1963. Classic PopSci...

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This is why I only drive 90s and 2000s Asian cars. Cheap to own, cheap to repair, parts are abundant and easy to work on without needing specialized equipment.

Plus if you enjoy driving like me, you have a huge selection of fun, reliable JDM sports cars to choose from, all under $10K.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Same, I have an old 5 speed Subaru right now and I love it.

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Manual 350Z for me

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This hits to close to home. Just got a quote to fix my wife's car $3500. Likes it a 2008 Hyundai accent can buy another car for that. Crazy expensive fix we don't have.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)
[–] filcuk@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 months ago (9 children)
load more comments (9 replies)
[–] Lennnny@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

The front fell off

[–] borth@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 months ago

How would you like to pay?

... I don't 🙃

[–] OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

How would you like to pay?

I'd like to use all that spare money I have in my bank account, but instead, I guess I'll use my credit card because my livelihood requires that I have a working car. I'm sure I can pay it off in the next few years before I need another crippling repair or other expense.

[–] coherent_domain@infosec.pub 9 points 2 months ago

Average Genius Bar experience

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 months ago

And people ask me why I have no interest in learning to drive...

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 4 points 2 months ago

Me in two weeks time from now

load more comments
view more: next ›