IamA redditor that meets with other redditors (and anyone else I can help) and fixes their cars free of charge, in the hopes they pay it forward. Round 2, back again!

Were there any specific events that caused you to do this?

Well, what started it all was a post in /r/loans way back when I first joined reddit. He was asking for 200$ for a brake job, which all in all is reasonable. I asked him if he lived in MD, which he did, and if he would mind meeting me halfway and have me work on them, which he agreed to. After that, I thought to myself 'anyone can give money to help someone pay to fix their vehicle, but not everyone can save the money in the first place by doing the work itself' so I figured, why not? :D

Got any good weird stories?

The weirdest thing... well, probably the weirdest part of this whole thing would be that redditors aren't as weird as people think. They, so far, have all be so normal its scary. No one brought a cat, no one wore a shirt with a fedora on it, no one asked me about half life. Just ordinary, friendly people.

Sorry =(

dude you confirmed half life 3 for me!

Haha! That's true, my bad!

Have you created a subreddit? r/reddithelpexchange maybe? There may be others looking to do this.

There is a sub, /r/RandomActsOfMechanics already.

Damn I meant like, one that would encompass all kinds of trades but I suppose maybe it's better split up.

Oh, I gotcha, thats a good point. Although, finding someone with a trade you need, and they just happen to need YOUR trade, eh, could get a bit hard to find.

What are some things offered to you for your help?

What is longest you have traveled to help someone?

How long are you going to do this for?

Mostly lunch, or a trade trade. (I fix their car, my trade, they make me something with their trade)

If you take into consideration full drive time, probably 3 hours round trip. I try to keep it ~roughly 1 hour one way, but I made a special case for this one.

Until my body says nay!

Who is the weirdest redditors you have met and why?

Well, Id never call my friends weird, and I try to keep in contact with the people Ive met, so I wont call any of them weird :P

Ill say this. One had me meet him in a storage warehouse. It was a bit of a..."eh....maybe Ill get murdered today..."

But once I met him, changed my mind quickly. VERY nice guy :D

We need more people like you. I have 2 questions for you: 1. Do you enjoy what you're doing? 2. Any stories from where your skills came in handy? (excluding fixing redditors' cars)

I love what I do, every bit of it.

I use my skills daily as an electrician, the tricks you learn are good for any trade, getting yourself out of a pinch and all. I got my friends car started by 'Fonz'ing the starter one time, that made me look cool :P

Starters, and really any electric motor, have brushes that sometimes need a sharp rap to unbind. So I took my hammer and went WHACK and it started right up. 'Da Fonz'

You are awesome.

I don't really have a question, but to stick to the rules, what is something someone could do for you that would have the same effect on you? As someone who knows nothing about cars except how much I have to spend when something breaks, what you do is great!

Something someone could do... Hm... Take my offer, pay it forward, and have that chain of events never stop. That would be the best thing ever :D

Did you attend any kind of school for your automotive abilities or is it a trade?

I went through the Ford ASSET program at CCBC in Catonsville Baltimore MD

How many have you worked on in total?

Hm, if I had to guess, somewhere nearing the 35-40 range, in person that is. Over the internet diagnostic, a handful more.

Can I message you a scenario to get your opinion?

Absolutely, as long as it's not about giant fucking bears

Wow, great idea, great cause, great work! Are there any insurance worries that affect you in the course of your awesome good deeds?

I never really put any thought into it. I mean, do I actually have liability, if they gave me permission to work on their car, and didnt pay me? Im no lawyer, so, I 'unno

:P

Cool, best of luck in the future and stay safe!

I try! Thanks!

Hi, I will be a first-time car owner soon. I will be buying a used vehicle, so first off, what should I look for to know if it's in good condition?

Second, what make do you recommend? I have no mechanical skills whatsoever, and I will be taking a road trip (12 hours each way) and will be going over mountains for most of the way, so whatever I get, I need it to be solid.

It also needs to be mid-sized. I don't need a huge truck or van, but it has to be bigger than a car. Something like an Outback would be sufficient, in terms of size.

Lastly, what basic maintenance skills do you suggest I learn to take car of my car? Stuff like changing my own oil, etc.

Thanks.

I recommend a Mazda3 Hatchback.

Bring a friend who has car knowledge to test drive it, listen for rattles and noises over bumps, and general feel for the car.

Learn to change a tire, learn to change your oil, the rest you can YouTube, or take it to a shop.

I know very little about cars so a couple questions.

1) My car has a transmission leak and my dad and I are going to get it looked at soon to get it fixed. What price range will this most likely be?(like cheapest possible price to the most expensive price it could be)

2) My car is 2000 Buick LeSabre. It has had no modifications done to it that I know of. My dad bought me a subwoofer awhile back. How much would you think it would cost to get new speakers and to pay someone to install all this stuff?

Thank you in advance OP.

Edit: Typo.

The leak could be a number of seals, if I had to guess, maybe 75-300.

Edit: only answered one question, sorry. Did the sub come with an amp? Youll need that. If your head unit (stereo) doesn't have an RCA output for an amp, you'll need to either replace it or get an adapter and tap into the rear speakers.

Speakers can range from 30-150$/set depending on what you want. Headunits can be 50-200$ again, depending on what you want.

Where do you hide their bodies?

If I told you, I wouldnt be here for the AMA, now would I.

Dabee, think your question through before asking! Seriously man.

Do you know anything about serpentine belts and air compressors? Mine burned and snapped yesterday while I was out, and I had to get it towed. I'm an Army wife with a deployed husband and a small child and just the one car, so I'm hoping to be able to fix it myself.

Does it need the AC compressor replaced, or just the belt? With a few of the right tools, a serpentine belt is a quick easy job, the compressor is not.

Damn I'm all the way out in California :/ just my luck but good on you for doing this to help other out. I have a 2003 Lincoln LS V8 and at the time i loved it, still do but i like it now not love it anymore. Giving me too many problems, ignition coils (huge problem with them) i found out about the recall on them too late, but now the tranny is messing up in low gears. Love the design of the car and the power it had when it ran good but now it's just getting frustrating and i still owe $4k on it :/
Have you worked on many LS's? and are they a pain to work on?

I worked on a few, as my Ford dealer was a Lincoln Mercury dealer for a good while.

The LS's are tight to work on sometimes. The coils were problems. And the trans' had their issues too.

I would give it a good power trans flush, and wish it the best.

Good luck!

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Lean on both cylinders? Hm.

Occam's razor tells me it's a vacuum leak. I'd be most certain of it.