Son #1:
Son #1 wrapped a Durango around a tree less than a mile from the house. He then ended up with old Buick Regal. He decided it needed an upgrade to the stereo, since it had an old cassette deck and the manufacturer radio. Neighbors spent over 6 hours trying to retrofit it in there, then at the last minute Son #1 hands us the adapter wiring harness and says "do y'all need this"? Our "hot wiring" burned up several things before an automotive electrician fixed it in two hours.
The Buick had wire rims that had a lock screw to keep them from getting lifted. Problem was, the hubs had broken loose and they would not come off without using a big screw driver and a hammer. Went to "Hubcap Heaven" for some replacement hubs. Couldn't find and that matched so I settled on paying $65 for plastic replacement hubcaps. Told Son #1 that those original wire rims were worth around $300. One day he asked his momma if he could borrow some money against those $300 rims. She said, "Nope. Go sell the rims." Son #1 wouldn't go by himself, so off they went. $25 for the set. I still laugh about it!
When Son #1 went off to USM, he inherited his Momma's white Nissan Sentra. Told him it was the last ride he would get from us. So far it has held up fairly well. One day I notice that the driver side door mirror cover was hanging loose. I pushed it back on, told him to squirt some Gorilla Glue up in there and it would be on there for good. He didn't. He eventually left the nest for Nashville. One day we get a phone call that the mirror cover had come up missing. After back tracking his trail, no luck, its history. The other day I went to St. Dominics for a checkup. When I returned to the parking garage, I notice this white Nissan Sentra. As I pass it I notice that the cover to the passenger side mirror was missing! I had quite a chuckle on seeing this. Son #1 has a twin!
Son #2:
We have had more luck with Son #2. He inherited his Mom's Chevy Equinox. This car was a great ride for the Spousal Unit. Only thing we discovered was that when we stopped in Hattiesburg for gas, the car would sputter. Turned out the injectors had trash in them. This was the first model year for this car and GM did not put a fuel filter on it! Go figure. We haven't stopped at that station since.
Son #2 took this car to MSMS for his last two years of high school. One night, someone broke out the window and keyed the hood. They stole items that had very little value except the tools in the back. During one of the semesters, the battery died. The Spousal Unit and I drove up to Columbus to change out the battery. Took one with me from AutoZone. Guy assured me it was the right battery. Get there, and guess what, wrong kinda posts. Got it exchanged at the local AutoZone, put it in, only to discover that the power steering wasn't working. Got it to the Dealer and found out that swapping out the battery will sometimes blow a fuse or two on this model of car.
The car has not exceeded 100,000 miles. He went to open the door, and the handle fell apart. No problem, he just unlocked it, opened the back door and reached in and presto! Door open. The rear windshield motor developed a mind of its own. This became very irritating to him. He checked with the Dealer and they wanted $285 for the repair. He ordered a replacement plus a can of paint off the Internet for $35. He then discovers that the rear hatch pistons had gone bad. He asked his girly friend's Dad "do all cars fall apart at 100,000 miles?"
During The Thanksgiving break, we made the trip to Advance Auto for the replacement parts, Five minutes later, the hatch goes up with ease. For some reason he didn't bring the door handle.
Four months go by and he has not done the door handle repair. Finally during Christmas break, he brings it home. I look up the repair on YouTube, unbelievable! There is only one screw and five minutes later it is done!
We decide to just remove the wiper blade on the back. Bolt won't budge. Decide to unplug the motor. Spousal Unit says "why don't you pull the fuse?" Yeah, right. We pull the panel off and find the wires. We find a connection and unplug. Whoops, not the wiper motor. Finally look at the owners manual, and what do you know, a fuse dedicated to that motor. Pulled, and motor dead, YES!
Lessons learned:
1. Look for a repair demo on YouTube. You will be amazed at how simple a repair can be.
2. Listen to your Spousal Unit, or you will never live it down!
No comments:
Post a Comment