Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[timun]

Sometimes it's worth waiving the white flag, lest you cause damage.

If it makes you feel any better, a story: a friend of mine called me the other night asking if I had pipe wrenches, because one of his bathroom sinks was clogged. He ended up calling in a plumber after spending a couple nights trying various chemical drain cleaners (incl. Coca-Cola, hahaha) and plunging the hell out of it. Said plumber did clear the clog this morning, but it took him three hours and he broke a drain snake in the process. In retrospect even the pro had a lot of trouble with it, even with the right tools.

[Fuzz]

Don't feel bad about it at all. Sometimes you just get the opposite of lucking out. 99.5% of oil changes are easy peasy. Not your fault yours wasn't.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by timun

Sometimes it's worth waiving the white flag, lest you cause damage..

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Don't feel bad about it at all. Sometimes you just get the opposite of lucking out. 99.5% of oil changes are easy peasy. Not your fault yours wasn't.

Thanks. It’s disappointing in that I tried everything I could and what should have been a simple process was anything but. Perhaps I’ll just stick to tire swaps...

[Sliver]

I think we can all relate. Sucks so bad when a 'simple' job goes totally sideways. We were rooting for you, too.

[edslunch]

How much does rust devalue a car? I’m selling a high performance German car but it has visible rust on the wheel well exteriors. Is that a killer or are gear heads likely to it worry about it or be ok remediating it?

[81MC]

I see it two ways:
If I’m looking for a vintage project car, rust and the scope of it factor into the overall plan, and is expected.

If I’m buying a car to actually drive (particularly if it’s clearly not a ####box), rust is a major deal breaker. Doesn’t matter how nice the car is, if it’s rusting it only gets worse. And what’s tackier than a AMG 55 that presents worse than a Civic?

Some people probably don’t mind, or think rust is an easy fix. But most car guys know that quarter panel/wheel well rust is way more work than meets the eye.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Yeah. I have an issue with my S4 Avant that is partly my own fault, but essentially its suspension is too low and as a result, driving it aggressively has led to the tires rubbing the wheel wells and a bit of the paint came off... which means that the metal underneath has some surface rust. I should have just replaced the suspension when I bought it. My mistake.

I think my solution is going to be a wide body kit. But that's a very expensive way to deal with the issue.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Thanks. It’s disappointing in that I tried everything I could and what should have been a simple process was anything but. Perhaps I’ll just stick to tire swaps...

I wouldn't give up on oil changes entirely. I would take it to a shop who will be able to somehow get it off. Explain to the shop the situation and ask if they can put the new filter on but not so tight it takes hours to get off.

This exact situation happened when I first started changing the oil in my car years ago. Luckily I had a friend that had the tools to get it off. Ever since then its a non-issue since I'm the one replacing the filter. It's on tight but not extremely tight.

Oil changes are dead simple, anyone can do them, you just need to forget the first one and move on....

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

I wouldn't give up on oil changes entirely. I would take it to a shop who will be able to somehow get it off. Explain to the shop the situation and ask if they can put the new filter on but not so tight it takes hours to get off.

This exact situation happened when I first started changing the oil in my car years ago. Luckily I had a friend that had the tools to get it off. Ever since then its a non-issue since I'm the one replacing the filter. It's on tight but not extremely tight.

Oil changes are dead simple, anyone can do them, you just need to forget the first one and move on....

Thanks. Yeah, perhaps the moral of story is that if your last oil change was at a Jiffy Lube, maybe do a quick check that the oil filter hasn't completely fused on before draining the oil or doing any other steps

As an update, I pushed the car to a neighborhood shop about 5 blocks away (props to the City bus driver who saw I was visibly gassed and got out and helped me push for half a block!) and they threw it up on the hoist today. Managed to twist it off using extra long bar for leverage; I'm happy I didn't completely annihilate the filter so they still had something to work with and it wasn't too complicated to remove.

It also didn't cost much more than what they would charge for a regular oil change, and it was well worth it by then... although to add insult to injury, I managed to ruin an older but still practically new pair of white running shoes by pushing the car out of the driveway and accidentally stepping in the oil drain pan I put under the car to catch any drips from the punctured filter

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I AM TRYING, DAMN IT.

And done.

Picked up a V8 Vantage S in Stratus White with the carbon package this morning, and have spent most of my time getting reacquainted with my favourite car (I will actually own) ever. Photos shortly.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Well. Way to come through in spectacular fashion.

[81MC]

Yeah, congrats. They’ll always be out of my reach, but they are one of the more beautiful cars out there.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

And done.

Picked up a V8 Vantage S in Stratus White with the carbon package this morning, and have spent most of my time getting reacquainted with my favourite car (I will actually own) ever. Photos shortly.

They have such timeless lines. Manual? Uncle has a DBS-V, and as fun as it is, I’d love to row em.

[DFO]

I may need to throw winter tires on the wagon this year. Anyone have experience with Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's?

[TorqueDog]

Car is a 2012 Vantage S, Stratus White (metallic and pearl), with Obsidian Black leather and silver stitching. It is a SportShift II which is the auto-shift manual 7-speed Graziano transmission (so single clutch, not a dual clutch nor a torque-converter automatic like the DB9, DBS, new Vanquish).

I am in heaven with this car.

[TSXCman]

Any driven on the kgl ring road section in the SW, coming from hwy 8 onto Glenmore east?

Theres a 4inch or higher drop off and riser at 50km/h that basically bounced my head into the roof, bend a rim, and my car has a vibration now.

Submitted a company to kgl and wondering if I'll get any compensation.

Pretty rediculous to not pour a transition lip on a busy road

[calgarygeologist]

I think I asked about this before or read previous questions and comments about purchasing vehicles from Ontario but I'm looking for some info again. I'm considering buying a used vehicle, private sale, next week. My plan would be to fly out to Toronto and drive back to Calgary through Canada.

I'm reading a lot of contradictory information online regarding HST. Insurance is not that big of an issue as that is easy to get set up. I obviously need an in-transit permit or what they call a Special Permit in Ontario. Does the Special Permit differ at all from an in-transit permit that could be obtained in Alberta. The Alberta permit says it is valid from point to point across Canada. I'm assuming a Special Permit obtained in Ontario wouldn't create any issues while driving across Manitoba and Sask, is that correct? Regarding HST, I understand it is collected at the registry/ministry in Ontario when the car is registered. If I'm only obtaining a special permit to drive the car out of province will they collect HST on the sale price? I saw that there is a form for obtaining a refund after registering out of province but obviously I'd rather not pay up front and have to wait for a refund from the government.

Is there anything else to know beforehand regarding purchasing and driving across the country? Obviously, I'm aware of the OOP inspection which shouldn't be a problem.

[bagofpucks]

One other thing I’d consider is that cars can have a lot more rust from the salt they use in Ontario. Anecdotal, but I had a used vehicle that I think only spent one maybe two winters there and it had rust in super weird spots compared to what I’ve seen in western canadian vehicles. The underbody was actually in pretty rough shape for its age and mileage.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I think my solution is going to be a wide body kit. But that's a very expensive way to deal with the issue.

RS4 fenders?

Being an Avant, I'm guessing that becomes a serious $ proposition given the rear panel size, rarity and shipping distance.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by bagofpucks

One other thing I’d consider is that cars can have a lot more rust from the salt they use in Ontario. Anecdotal, but I had a used vehicle that I think only spent one maybe two winters there and it had rust in super weird spots compared to what I’ve seen in western canadian vehicles. The underbody was actually in pretty rough shape for its age and mileage.

It’s absolutely terrible here. Don’t buy a vehicle from Ontario unless it’s been regularly sprayed. It’s a brine they use and it gets into absolutely everything.