...the compelling case for Drivers Ed...

galwaytt

....very hard to write this and not appear condescending, but at the same time, the fact of the matter is, most people who driver are not familiar enough with their cars for even basic or emergency situations.

Recently I wrote about this: Volvo XC90 and the point in that was the hullah involved in that was typical of the gap in people knowledge about, say, changing a wheel. Now in that case, the wheel failure was both extraordinary and catastrophic, and the people involved did have the nous to know what needs doing vis-à-vis changing a wheel etc.

But it's not always so. I changed another wheel for a lady in a car park a short while ago as well. No biggy.

Yesterday then I got a variation on a theme.........driving on M6 approaching Galway, I was behind an 08 Passat. I thought an odd smell off it in the distance - some hundreds of metres - and the SO thought it diesel ? Didn't smell like diesel, although it plumed behind the car like so many with bad or leaky injectors. No, this was different. Burning. And got worse. And then much worse.

As I was tipping along at 100kph on cruise, I thought something odd here and accelerated up and overtook her, at which point smoke was billowing out from behind as well as from the r.h. wheel arch - and there was the culprit - a tyre absolutely flailing about the place, literally - it was about to depart from the rim.

I blew the horn, pointed, the usual, and she and we, pulled in. Actually, she pulled in ON the yellow line which was bloody dangerous, and I got her to move into the Armco.

So. Looked at the wheel - smoke still pouring off it. Lady was quite surprised, as she thought the smoke was from 'the engine' and was completely ignorant of the drama in the r.h. wheel arch. So hot was the (alloy) rim, I couldn't touch it, and the tyre had completely lost it's shape/structure. It was like an elastic band. We pulled the car in a bit more and it left MOLTEN rubber on the ground - the tyre was seconds from igniting - and that my friends will be a claim for writing it off - if the tyre went on fire, there'd be no putting it out on your own at the side of the road, and the car would be toast. I have seen it before (Civic), and it does happen.

Pic of wheel, with molten rubber just off the car, piping hot.......


She had presumed of the tyre went like that the car would 'go out of control'. Only in Hollywood I told her............ :P

So, got to the boot, jack, wheel brace, locking nut thingy all present in their place (well, it's a very new car tbh...), and set about taking off the wheel, which was straightforward enough. She had a Hi-Vis in the boot so I put that on, as working with your back to the inside lane of the M6 is not the safest place in the world.

Watching me she said 'I must learn how to do that'....which is what prompted this thread in the first place - and indeed we all should. Don't wait for a puncture. Go out and practice. If nothing else, you'll learn how to use a jack in comfort, if the studs/nuts are v.v.tight, etc........and you won't put them on quite so tight next time........... You'll also learn where all the bits you need to do the job are, at your own pace.

Anyway, back to the Tale.............

I was dying to find out what caused this............well, see pics for yourselves..........


Wear and Tear to the point of, well..........way, way past legality. Dare I say it, stupidity even.

Which got me to - further - thinking..........er, if this one is this bad - down PAST the wire, through the canvas, then..........what's the other front one like...... ?

Ooooer......... :eek:



So I told her you need two tyres now, and 'lively, like' :P . As my family had set off and left me there, she ran me into town on her way to work, heading for Advance to get two tyres. I explained her tracking would need to be done too.

Interestingly, this was a lovely, shiney, clean B6 Passat 1.9. It was taxed (habit I have of checking :pac: ), insured, and lo & behold - wearing a 2014 NCT disc. People seem to think that little thing on the windscreen if a free pass to avoid the issue of physics, and that it protects them from the Evil Garage Fairies........ :rolleyes:

She was quite shaken, really, so maybe this might be a wake-up call. As she pulled away I had to break the news to her that her DMF was AWOL as well, to which she replied 'how did you know that ?', and then then she told me she had had it done recently in a hurry with a............secondhand one. Sigh. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: You'll be doing it again, so I tell her........

Then she tells me she as thinking of trading up to something newer, to be cheaper to run..............like a, er, Golf. Eh ? She wanted to save on diesel costs........and when asked how much does the Passat do mpg-wise she ...had no idea. I scrolled the menu on the stalk and it was telling me it averaged 45mpg....which she didn't know you could do btw....and so, the conversation turned to how you'd have to spend €26k less your Passat (10k is what she had on it...) to save.........how much ?

Maybe that kind of math should be part of any Drivers Ed curriculum too...

Kenny Logins

Wow. That is quite worrying.

keithclancy

galwaytt wrote: »

Then she tells me she as thinking of trading up to something newer, to be cheaper to run..............like a, er, Golf. Eh ? She wanted to save on diesel costs........and when asked how much does the Passat do mpg-wise she ...had no idea. I scrolled the menu on the stalk and it was telling me it averaged 45mpg....which she didn't know you could do btw....and so, the conversation turned to how you'd have to spend €26k less your Passat (10k is what she had on it...) to save.........how much ?

Maybe that kind of math should be part of any Drivers Ed curriculum too...

She wasn't wrong anyway, the XC90s cost a fortune to keep on the road according to a few lads in work.

Tie rod ends were a recall that can cause inside tyre wear

How did you diagnose DMF failure by just listening to it btw ?

Driving with the back wheel like that though .. :eek::eek::eek:

ba_barabus

I get slagged by my mates for checking the car over once a week. Tyres, fluid levels and lights and just a general look round.

They can't for the life of them understand the concept of preventative maintenance. As its an old 2002 car they figure you're better off just driving it on till it beeaks as its worth nothing anyway.

listermint

keithclancy wrote: »

She wasn't wrong anyway, the XC90s cost a fortune to keep on the road according to a few lads in work.

Tie rod ends were a recall that can cause inside tyre wear

How did you diagnose DMF failure by just listening to it btw ?

Driving with the back wheel like that though .. :eek::eek::eek:

She had a passat....

ba_barabus

Btw I'm having a tyre changed and this just rolled in

wildefalcon

ba_barabus wrote: »

Btw I'm having a tyre changed and this just rolled in

Good few miles left in that - sure the stone would stop it wearing any further!

spurious

ba_barabus wrote: »

Btw I'm having a tyre changed and this just rolled in

Good while left in that yet.:D

I'm a woman and while I wouldn't be able to strip an engine or do anything major really, I can change a wheel, add oil, water, change bulbs etc..
I was in a friend's car a few months ago and smoke was coming from the bonnet. 'That's not normal' I said, 'you should get it checked'. 'Ah I will at the NCT' she said.

I despair.

galwaytt

keithclancy wrote: »

She wasn't wrong anyway, the XC90s cost a fortune to keep on the road according to a few lads in work.

Tie rod ends were a recall that can cause inside tyre wear

How did you diagnose DMF failure by just listening to it btw ?

Driving with the back wheel like that though .. :eek::eek::eek:

methinks you are imbibing at this early hour :pac:. Yesterdays event and pics was of a Passat front wheel...... :P :P

The Backwards Man

In fairness, changing a VAG wheel in the dark, cold pishing rain is one of the dirtiest jobs going.

keithclancy

galwaytt wrote: »

methinks you are imbibing at this early hour :pac:. Yesterdays event and pics was of a Passat front wheel...... :P :P

galwaytt

The Backwards Man wrote: »

In fairness, changing a VAG wheel in the dark, cold pishing rain is one of the dirtiest jobs going.

...the XC90 would infinitely worse. That spare wheel under the car, on the outside is a wollox. Wouldn't fancy lying down on a wet road at night go get it out....

Ronnie Beck

I jump started a lads passat up in sligo there on sunday. While waiting for the battery to charge up a bit I checked his oil. Barely on the stick and the oil looked as old as the hills. I had to explain the markings on it to him and that his oil was nowhere near either.. Same as above, a lovely clean B6 on the outside.

Car wouldn't start on a jump but it started with a push once the battery had been charged enough to release the electric brake - stupid invention. If he's reading this I have your battery cover :P

dgt

I see it all too often, serviced but never maintained. Sickening thats how little people think of a vital means of getting about

bazz26

One of the reasons why I tend to buy used UK cars with verified service histories these days. Generally the Irish never looked after their cars and even more so now in these testing times.

While I agree that Driver Education on basic car checks and maintenance are necessary as the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink it.

pred racer

Drivers ed starts at home, I have 3 kids, all of them will have proved to my satifaction that they can look after their car/tyres etc before they are let on the road.
I also highlite ignorant parking and let them know whats going to happen if I see them parking like that!

On the other hand ive also taught them to give gosafe vans the fingers:pac:

biko

galwaytt wrote: »

driving on M6 approaching Galway, I was behind an 08 Passat. I thought an odd smell off it in the distance - some hundreds of metres - and the SO thought it diesel ? Didn't smell like diesel, although it plumed behind the car like so many with bad or leaky injectors. No, this was different. Burning. And got worse. And then much worse.

Funny you should post this. The same happened to me too on the M6, but leaving Galway.
A white small van was ahead of me and a few more cars and I could smell rubber. Suddenly the van jerked and started to roll in to the side of the road.
It looked like the rear passenger wheel blew out.
A couple other cars stopped so I just went on but it must have been scary for the driver. We were all doing just over 100 kmph and I'd hate to think what would have happened if it was the driver's front tyre that blew out instead.

wildefalcon

So, why is there this difference in the care of cars?


What is different between Ireland and the UK? Is it the history of car ownership in the UK that means there's a culture of car care?

Or is it the cost of it here?

I mean the Irish are no more ignorant, or intelligent than the Scots, Welsh or English? The cultures are reasonably similar, so why this big difference?

Is the same neglect apparent in the northern counties of Ireland?

Was the annual MOT the reason why servicing happened every year?

ednwireland

wildefalcon wrote: »

Was the annual MOT the reason why servicing happened every year?

brought in in 1960 thats a lot of years to introduce a culture change

btw
best thing i ever bought was a 12v powered jack and impact wrench

Victor Meldrew

wildefalcon wrote: »

So, why is there this difference in the care of cars?
What is different between Ireland and the UK? Is it the history of car ownership in the UK that means there's a culture of car care?

I mean the Irish are no more ignorant, or intelligent than the Scots, Welsh or English? The cultures are reasonably similar, so why this big difference?

Is the same neglect apparent in the northern counties of Ireland?

Was the annual MOT the reason why servicing happened every year?

There are differences, and compliance with law is one, The MOT has been around for decades as well.

Generally, the army has an affect in Britain as well. Across all classes, enough people are taught how to do something properly and to take pride in having something "right". Empire was all in the planning and preparation.

You'll see a lot of lod and late model cars in really good nick in the UK. Many will be modest as well. but just looked after.

MugMugs

Fair play OP for helping out and drawing her attention to the problem.

It's astonishing that she had tyres in such a poor condition in the first place :eek:

The driving test should be changed to include stuff like be able to remove/replace a wheel and give a car a inspection to ensure everything is fine with tyres/lights etc.

Once a person knows how to do it, it's trivial.

jimgoose

The old cross-piece wheelbraces were bad enough, but what's being provided nowadays with cars to remove and replace wheel-studs is nothing short of laughable. I carry a Bahco BHS240 socket set instead of the ridiculous thing that came with it.

And don't get me started on scissors-jacks...

jimgoose

Deleted User wrote: »

The driving test should be changed to include stuff like be able to remove/replace a wheel and give a car a inspection to ensure everything is fine with tyres/lights etc.

Once a person knows how to do it, it's trivial.

It would perhaps be more useful these days to include modules on phoning breakdown assist, and/or deploying Ye Olde Canne of Tyre-Welde.

Victor Meldrew

jimgoose wrote: »

It would perhaps be more useful these days to include modules on phoning breakdown assist, and/or deploying Ye Olde Canne of Tyre-Welde.

Wife's car has a compressor, and a bottle of gunk. And a can of tyre weld... Heaven forbid when she has to use them all by the side of the road.

I've run-flats. Which suck on many levels, but at least they remove the horrors of dealing with a flat on a motorway, and replace it with driving with your hazards on at 80kmph...

RobAMerc

funny you should say about drivers ed and the M6.
This weekend I saw a guy indicate then almost come to a stop on the inside lane before pulling into the verge for whatever he was doing ! Why not pull in before braking to a stop ?
And I have seen folk pull into the inside lane before accelerating up to anything like the speed they should be travelling at.

Moving (barely) targets !

derry

When i was sixteen i stripped down and rebuilt my first car a Peugeot 404 as it had rattle in the engine and everybody said big end gone 125,000 miles ..I Had crankshaft and bearing tested and everything was to spec so it wasn't the big end .I rebuilt the engine and found it was tension on the timing chain allowing the the timing chain to slap the timing chain cover problem fixxed and family and i did another 50,000 miles in that car before rust killed it .
In them days there wasnt internet and 2000 tv stations only rte 1 rte 2 and iffy reception of the itv and bbc channels.
Nowadays kids don't do fixing anything washing machine cars and some have never even seen a tool box or used a tool in their lives .They go onto to buy cars watch umpteen tv stations tripe and generally know nothing if it did int come from the tube .If they did want to fix cars there are neighbor that complain to council if they do it on the street and many housing estates and apartments car park have rules against repairing of cars .
The old fashioned garage where they had a lathe and even a small foundry to make parts are long gone and now its all laptops where if one spark plug is cracked and causes internment misfirieng they cant figure it out and you get bills to replace coils valves rocker arms you name before they spot its a cracked spark plug.

Nowadays when they break on side of the road i pull up and 99% have already called the AA or similar service that came with insurance and so unless there is some extraordinary reason to stay i go on my way as i got bored to lift bonnets on cars to find there was no oil or no water in engines that caused some problem as nobody ever checked the oil or water .

I carry my tool box run old cars and only do third party insurance and have the phone numbers of the locals in the region that do car ambulance just in case and saved my eff many years of AA or insurance call outs services as never had problem which i could not sort out with my tools

ROI is tuning into those that know nothing about cars some 90% afew% who think they know something often trained baboons in the large makers garages and fraction of percent in those garages firefighting who know how to fix things and trying to stop the baboons wrecking the cars they send them to off to fix .Outside of that a few % fix stuff at home themselves some fix everything including grinding valves or replacing clutches or fixing the broken brains of modern car electronics and more of them just fixing the basics spark plugs oil changes and so forth .
The future is not looking good for DIY car user who know anything as cars become more sealed component throw away items and the system ensure Irish kids learn nothing anymore except garbage and face book crap .

Good luck

Derry

dgt

TLDR a load of crap discussed in the pub. Includes lots of generalities and hearsay, nothing new

NickDunne

I've tried teaching or even explaining to the other half about changing a wheel if she's out on her own. Looks at me like i've 10 heads and says "that's what the recovery on my insurance is for" :rolleyes:

corktina

scary stuff

slimjimmc

Deleted User wrote: »

The driving test should be changed to include stuff like be able to remove/replace a wheel and give a car a inspection to ensure everything is fine with tyres/lights etc.

Once a person knows how to do it, it's trivial.

With the exception of replacing a wheel, it already does,
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/motoring_1/driving_tests/driving_test.html

Technical checks of vehicle
If you are doing a driving test for categories B (car), EB (car with trailer) and W (work vehicle) you must explain some technical checks as part of your test. After you have answered some questions on the Rules of the Road, the instructor will bring you out to your vehicle. You will be asked how a technical check would be performed on 3 of the following; steering, horn, brakes, tyres, lights, reflectors, indicators, engine oil, coolant, windscreen washer fluid. Access to these items will require you demonstrate how to open the bonnet and to close it securely. Read more detailed information on technical checks for all motor vehicles here.

If you are doing a test for categories C1, C, EC1 and EC (truck and trucks with trailers) you will be asked how a technical check would be peformed on three of the same items above. Access to these items will require you to open and securely close the bonnet, to open/close panels etc.

FrontDoor

Ronnie Beck wrote: »

I jump started a lads passat up in sligo there on sunday. While waiting for the battery to charge up a bit I checked his oil. Barely on the stick and the oil looked as old as the hills. I had to explain the markings on it to him and that his oil was nowhere near either.. Same as above, a lovely clean B6 on the outside.

He'd probably be the first to whinge about VW being rubbish if things started to go wrong with it.

unkel

galwaytt wrote: »

and lo & behold - wearing a 2014 NCT disc. People seem to think that little thing on the windscreen if a free pass to avoid the issue of physics

Early '08 car would have an early '14 test disc. The first NCT can be done 6 months early. That car might not have been in the NCT centre for over 2 years. The tyres could have already been borderline back then...

Makes a case for an annual NCT for all cars, even new ones.

Many Irish people don't mind spending 20k, 30k, 40k or even more on a brand new car and then want to spend nothing more on it, just a few pennies on fuel...

In fairness I think changing a wheel is too big a job for most women (no offence intended at all btw and most women would agree with me on this). Wheel nuts are always extremely tight from air guns, wheels are always stuck to the rim and have to be kicked of, lock nuts slipping etc etc. Then there is even lifting the wheel which can be quite heavy on a lot of cars and even things like understanding (and I mean really understanding) where to jack the car, making sure its stable etc.

My sisters, mother, gf etc would never have changed a wheel and to be honest I wouldn't encourage them to, I think it's much better to get some help and that's the advise I'd give them if they were to go trying.

toastedpickles

I don't know an awful lot about cars, but I know more than I used to, mainly by experimenting on my own, and asking questions with the mechanic when something goes a bit wonky, and through the lovely folk on here, so now I can do stuff, like, a basic service/ diagnose problems with the engine/tires/exhaust etc If something is wrong, even a blown parking light, ocd kicks in and it must be fixed immediately.

I'm just glad I'm not one of those people who nearly kill themselves because of neglecting their car, and when the brother gets my car the same will be done to him

Victor Meldrew

Rose Rough Minion wrote: »

In fairness I think changing a wheel is too big a job for most women (no offence intended at all btw and most women would agree with me on this). Wheel nuts are always extremely tight from air guns, wheels are always stuck to the rim and have to be kicked of, lock nuts slipping etc etc. Then there is even lifting the wheel which can be quite heavy on a lot of cars and even things like understanding (and I mean really understanding) where to jack the car, making sure its stable etc.

It's a really good argument for run flats. I was looking in the back of a Radio station's promotional Hummer, and the spare tyre was about 30 inches in diameter all in. There is no way in hell any one this side of a professional rugby player could drag that out of the back, and more's the point, the strength in manoeuvring that to line up with the nuts....

At that stage, hauling it back into the trunk....? :eek:

Extreme example, but lots of women drive SUVs.

Wheels have got a lot bigger in the past 20 years. I'd wonder if Health and safety would let you lift most wheels into your boot? even typical 205/55/R16's are a brute.

Leonard Hofstadter

wildefalcon wrote: »

So, why is there this difference in the care of cars?


What is different between Ireland and the UK? Is it the history of car ownership in the UK that means there's a culture of car care?

Or is it the cost of it here?

I mean the Irish are no more ignorant, or intelligent than the Scots, Welsh or English? The cultures are reasonably similar, so why this big difference?

Is the same neglect apparent in the northern counties of Ireland?

Was the annual MOT the reason why servicing happened every year?

While the Irish and British do have a lot of similarities, there are so many differences.

Doing things 'properly' and by the book is something the English are much more likely to do. In Ireland, we see rules and regulations as merely guidelines. This is great most of the time, but in pretty much every other country when a manufacturer says a car needs a service every 10,000 miles, it is exactly that not get it checked every 2 years (just before the NCT, of course). Service intervals are there for a reason, and when the car makers decided on service intervals they weren't thinking of our ultra laid back attitude - because that's not how things work in the rest of the world.

Sometimes I have to laugh at their insistence in following procedures in England - like not being able to exit through an entrance door in a store, or people giving out to you for not standing on the right side of a life in a train station in London, but it does of course have its advantanges, most obviously when it comes to cars and of course car maintenance.

It should be pointed out that despite the common perception on this forum, there are some complete and utter heaps in England, I have seen many cars that sound very rough, I have seen cars over here that would match an Irish car for being total poverty spec and with a weedy little engine, but, and this is the crucial difference between the UK and Ireland, you will see many cars that are well over 10 years old, and they look and sound absolutely perfect. And, of course, the cars have much more powerful engines, you will see 316ds over here, and other muck, but it's the exception, whereas in Ireland the poverty spec 316d with its pathetic 114 bhp is the norm.

Also, you will see cars with keep fit windows, and no a/c etc just like you would at home, but again this is the exception rather than the rule. Most cars here will be with features that probably weren't even available as an option in Ireland (and even if they were, nobody would order the options anyway knowing Ireland).

RandomAccess

That's funny, the English consider themselves pretty cavalier in comparison to the Germans. Probably best not to compare ourselves with Deutschland then!

It's true what the guys are saying about zero maintenance. I think we should be able to report dangerous cars to the Gardai so they might be issued a warning and a few days to get it sorted and appear at garda station.

galwaytt

unkel wrote: »

Early '08 car would have an early '14 test disc. The first NCT can be done 6 months early. That car might not have been in the NCT centre for over 2 years. The tyres could have already been borderline back then...

Makes a case for an annual NCT for all cars, even new ones.

Many Irish people don't mind spending 20k, 30k, 40k or even more on a brand new car and then want to spend nothing more on it, just a few pennies on fuel...

True. Kinda.

I mean, having an NCT at 12mths might not catch that (or similar) either. If as you say the tyres were borderline then, they might have been toast within 6 months - so what good a 12 month NCT then ?

In which case, extrapolate that to 10+yr old cars and I'd argue they should be afforded a 2 yr test as well, not singled out for a 1 yr one - there is no discernible benefit.

wildefalcon

In the UK the Police and VOSA are very strong on bald tyres - and safety in general.

Having the car impounded as unsafe may focus your mind on that sort of thing.

I think they apply points and fines for tyres under the limit.

unkel

galwaytt wrote: »

I'd argue they should be afforded a 2 yr test as well, not singled out for a 1 yr one - there is no discernible benefit.

In an ideal world we wouldn't need an NCT...

In a country with plenty of people like the woman you described we'd need one every 6 months

An OK compromise is to have one every year for every car and ideally strong enforcement with strong fines (but I can't see that happen, enforcement of motoring offences is a bit of a joke here)

galwaytt

unkel wrote: »

In an ideal world we wouldn't need an NCT...

In a country with plenty of people like the woman you described we'd need one every 6 months

An OK compromise is to have one every year for every car and ideally strong enforcement with strong fines (but I can't see that happen, enforcement of motoring offences is a bit of a joke here)

I'll go with strong enforcement, but with 2yrs. You can still be stopped even with an NCT and have your tyres etc looked at by AGS, so enforcement is a better way.

And, of course, NCT can't cope with the increasing demand of the aging population of vehicles. Last time I checked the national fleet was 8.5 yrs 'young' and they're struggling to cope with the existing 10yr+outfall on 1 yr tests (currently 12 weeks waiting list) - so this is not going to improve anytime soon.

unkel

galwaytt wrote: »

I'll go with strong enforcement, but with 2yrs.

Deal!

galwaytt wrote: »

And, of course, NCT can't cope with the increasing demand of the aging population of vehicles.

Of course they can. Like most businesses they would be eager and capable to grow their business by say 20% per year if they were given the opportunity. I'd say they probably carry out twice as many tests now than 5-7 years ago (anybody got any figures?)

galwaytt

unkel wrote: »

Deal!



Of course they can. Like most businesses they would be eager and capable to grow their business by say 20% per year if they were given the opportunity. I'd say they probably carry out twice as many tests now than 5-7 years ago (anybody got any figures?)

No they can't. They will tell you that themselves. The reason is that the network was predicated on a car population of a certain age profile.

The collapse in new car sales, the flood of imports and the increase rather than decrease in the (hoped for) average age has meant they can't cope as frequency of testing is up.

unkel

galwaytt wrote: »

No they can't.

Why not? Just hire more staff and open the busy centres for longer opening hours. The one I go to (Fonthill, Lucan) is probably the busiest NCT centre in the country. Open 7 days a week, seemingly most days from till late at night. Open another hour or two earlier, close another hour or two later, increase your staff by 20% and there you go, you can test 20% more cars!

Any extra car tested within the current infrastructure of test centres only needing more staff will add hugely to their profits

hoodie6029

To give you an idea of a the Irish attitude to car maintenance I have encountered:
Found a car maintenance course when I had been looking for one for a while.
It was in a central secondary school in Dublin in the evening and was very reasonable. There was 8 of us in class.
Most people who I told I was doing it said 'sure what use will that be, it's all computers these days on cars'
The teacher had been teaching the course for close to 40 years. He said the interest in the course dropped of since the mid 1980's. Went from 50 people in a lecture hall to single digits in a small classroom.

I started a thread here let people know about it starting again as it was very good.
I remember the views being dismal and the replies being just as low.
Car DIY will only ever be for enthusiasts and the general public will never be interested.
But what we should be is is have a practical test separate from the driving test where you should you know how to carry out basic maintenance.

Chris_Heilong

hoodie6029 wrote: »

To give you an idea of a the Irish attitude to car maintenance I have encountered:
Found a car maintenance course when I had been looking for one for a while.
It was in a central secondary school in Dublin in the evening and was very reasonable. There was 8 of us in class.
Most people who I told I was doing it said 'sure what use will that be, it's all computers these days on cars'
The teacher had been teaching the course for close to 40 years. He said the interest in the course dropped of since the mid 1980's. Went from 50 people in a lecture hall to single digits in a small classroom.

I started a thread here let people know about it starting again as it was very good.
I remember the views being dismal and the replies being just as low.
Car DIY will only ever be for enthusiasts and the general public will never be interested.
But what we should be is is have a practical test separate from the driving test where you should you know how to carry out basic maintenance.

Sounds like something I would be interested in, canyou pm me a link to the thread.

ABajaninCork

Rose Rough Minion wrote: »

In fairness I think changing a wheel is too big a job for most women (no offence intended at all btw and most women would agree with me on this). Wheel nuts are always extremely tight from air guns, wheels are always stuck to the rim and have to be kicked of, lock nuts slipping etc etc. Then there is even lifting the wheel which can be quite heavy on a lot of cars and even things like understanding (and I mean really understanding) where to jack the car, making sure its stable etc.

My sisters, mother, gf etc would never have changed a wheel and to be honest I wouldn't encourage them to, I think it's much better to get some help and that's the advise I'd give them if they were to go trying.

I had a giggle at this. My father taught me to change a wheel, check and top up oil and water and check the air in the tyres. I can change a wheel, but thank God have never needed to. What on earth do I pay the RAC/AA for if I did that?

A funny story. My friend had a flat tyre in Streatham Common (London) one day. It was pouring with rain and freezing cold. She managed to get the car over to the side of the road, got the jack out and proceeded to jack the car up in order to change the wheel. Along came a dustcart, complete with six burly men, who literally pushed my friend out of the way, telling her to sit in the dry and changed the wheel for her! She was really annoyed as she didn't want to be thought of as a helpless female...:rolleyes: She couldn't understand why me & my other mate thought she was mad to be mad at the poor binmen who were only trying to help!!!

galwaytt

unkel wrote: »

Why not? Just hire more staff and open the busy centres for longer opening hours. The one I go to (Fonthill, Lucan) is probably the busiest NCT centre in the country. Open 7 days a week, seemingly most days from till late at night. Open another hour or two earlier, close another hour or two later, increase your staff by 20% and there you go, you can test 20% more cars!

Any extra car tested within the current infrastructure of test centres only needing more staff will add hugely to their profits

Galway is on 7 days a week and til 10 at night. There's only so many hours in the day.

More centres.

Or 2 yr tests all round. I know which I'd prefer

unkel

galwaytt wrote: »

Or 2 yr tests all round. I know which I'd prefer

We'd all be safer from idiots like your woman if the test was yearly. Doing the test takes up only a couple of hours of anyones time just once a year. I know which I'd prefer...

ABajaninCork

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I had a giggle at this. My father taught me to change a wheel, check and top up oil and water and check the air in the tyres. I can change a wheel, but thank God have never needed to. What on earth do I pay the RAC/AA for if I did that?

Checking oil and coolant is different as its easy but very few women have any interest in even attempting to change a wheel never mind the fact a lot wouldn't be physically able. I'm reasonably strong and I've struggled to open wheel nuts, broken wheel braces trying to open nuts, had to get the sledge hammer to hit a the wheel of a car on more than one occasion it was so stuck to the rim etc etc. How is a fairly small, ligh woman supposed to deal with that and again that's not even getting down to the lifting the wheel which can be big and heavy.