TyLawsPick6
Well-known member
Absolutely. That and learning from others.
What is an underrated skill that people should learn?
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I will only drive cars that are manual... My everyday driver is a manual Toyota iM and I had to have it shipped from south Florida because it was literally the ONLY one I could find that was a stick because people are too damn lazy to learn. As far as gas mileage? CVT's get better mileage these days but they're corny, IMO. It's like driving a car with a torque converter instead of a transmission, like a go cart. Boring as hell and SLOW as balls!
It is getting harder to find them, I agree. Years ago, my mom was looking for a vehicle so she piled us all in and we went. There was only one manual in the entire lot. But she didn't know how and did not want to learn. That one car was 5K less than the others. So, when opportunity presented itself I made sure to learn. That sticker price stuck.
aloyouis
at least generally aware
I just had to buy another car for the kids to use after one was totaled. Finding good solid used cars today is next to impossible, as you know. Came across the Mini. To your point above, the seller wasn't getting many hits because it was a manual and the brake light was on. I had the car inspected and it revealed the light issue (simple fix, broken sensor wire). Kept that to myself and made a lower offer which was rejected. Reached back out to them a couple of weeks later to check in and they immediately offered to accept the earlier price we offered. The manual trans eliminated 90% or more of the market. Bought it that night.
The wire was $12 from Rock auto and took 10 minutes to install. LOL.
Bravo!!!
i had to buy my first auto ever....i'm horrendously sad. there are ZERO manual suvs now and i need 4wd for snow. i did keep my manual though, it's my fun car now because i don't have to have it as my daily driver. i know i can never replace it so it's "out to stud" now.
Get rid of that Mini before it hits 100k miles... They are money pits. My next door neighbor had one from new and that thing was always in the shop and she did not beat on it. She had a Honda, got the Mini, had a it couple years and one day there was a new Honda in her driveway. I said what happened to the Mini? She rolled her eyes and said that it was a complete POS. A friend of mine also had one, for 1 year.
I have an Xterra to tow my boat and that's an automatic but I like an auto for towing.
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Yeah. Get in line for a nice jeep. The line is longer than the Pats season ticket line.
Cheers
Big/Sky/Fly
370hssv vw6!s tu36v
Michigan salts and chemicals their roads in the winter? Corrosion and rust...
aloyouis
at least generally aware
Yeah.... They are just little BMW's these days. As with all BMW's if you do the maintenance you have a decent shot of them lasting. This Mini is the 3 cylinder/ 2 door/aforementioned 6spd. Of all of them this one should have the best chance of being a long term car for us. We all love driving it (don't let the 3 cyl thing fool you) because it is like a go cart.
We have been mostly lucky with BMW's with 2 that I drove going over 300k miles (I used to drive a LOT!). I did have an X5 that was a POS. The key is changing the oil every 3-5k miles. Do NOT follow the BMW computer. Those were developed after BMW decided to "include" maintenance and items such as oil changes went from 5k to 12k miles if you listened to the car. Nothing magic happened except BMW does less "free" oil changes these days and peoples engines wear out/blow up.
Long response to your valid point. We will change the oil a lot and see.
aloyouis
at least generally aware
Yup. And that is what killed the exposed brake pad wear sensor connector that I had replace.
spacecrime
Well-known member
A second language. or if you know two, a third.
For me, getting up there in years, I can accept loss of strength but not decreased mental capacity. Learning another language and shfting between the two supposedly works wonders developing new neural pathways. Inexpensive one-on-one lessons on italki.com, and meetup.com lets you practice with other foreign language speakers.
For AOT, it isn't too late to learn public speaking. It's simple, really. What most people need is confidence. Once you learn to project voice, pause, etc, it all comes together. Good and inexpensive courses on udemy.com. Check out Peter Baker.
Being retired in the age of the internet is awesome. So much you can learn. Last week I googled can you learn to sing in your 70's and the answer is yes, with a ton of free youtube videos.
Inexpensive fun.
For me, getting up there in years, I can accept loss of strength but not decreased mental capacity. Learning another language and shfting between the two supposedly works wonders developing new neural pathways. Inexpensive one-on-one lessons on italki.com, and meetup.com lets you practice with other foreign language speakers.
For AOT, it isn't too late to learn public speaking. It's simple, really. What most people need is confidence. Once you learn to project voice, pause, etc, it all comes together. Good and inexpensive courses on udemy.com. Check out Peter Baker.
Being retired in the age of the internet is awesome. So much you can learn. Last week I googled can you learn to sing in your 70's and the answer is yes, with a ton of free youtube videos.
Inexpensive fun.
Hawg73
Mediocre with flashes of brilliance
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Here's something I learned last year and I wish I'd learned it sooner.
Shit is always breaking and just about all glue, krazy glue, etc., is junk. They all have their drawbacks.
Instead, go out and get a small tube of 2-part epoxy glue. It comes with a cap so that you can use every bit of it without the cap getting welded on as in krazy glue, so
it's cheaper than throwing away ones that have turned into stone in your utility drawer. Because it doesn't become glue until the parts are mixed, the cap won't get stuck on the syringe. It
also won't ruin your fingers like krazy glue which I've found difficult to avoid. Shit is dangerous and doesn't work all that great.
Epoxy glue comes in a dual-bodied syringe and with a little practice you'll learn to squirt equal sized globs of the epoxy and resin on a paper plate and mix it with, say, a popsicle stick. The mixture sets up in few minutes and starts getting thicker so you can easily apply it to whatever you are trying to repair without drips. It doesn't matter whether that is wood, ceramic metal, plastic or whatever. It works on everything. Once you get used to the timing, you can learn to stick awkward items, say the arm of a statue for example, and it'll adhere in the proper position without trying to hold it forever or tape it up or something.
The bond sets up fast and the stuff just doesn't let go. That bond is stronger than the material you're repairing in most cases, it's almost invisible and is permanent.
Don't let the mixing process deter you from trying it. It's quite easy. The only tricky part is getting equal-sized globs out of the syringe and you can do that by adjusting pressure on the plunger on whatever side is necessary. You can find it at big box stores, walmart, or michael's.
Shit is always breaking and just about all glue, krazy glue, etc., is junk. They all have their drawbacks.
Instead, go out and get a small tube of 2-part epoxy glue. It comes with a cap so that you can use every bit of it without the cap getting welded on as in krazy glue, so
it's cheaper than throwing away ones that have turned into stone in your utility drawer. Because it doesn't become glue until the parts are mixed, the cap won't get stuck on the syringe. It
also won't ruin your fingers like krazy glue which I've found difficult to avoid. Shit is dangerous and doesn't work all that great.
Epoxy glue comes in a dual-bodied syringe and with a little practice you'll learn to squirt equal sized globs of the epoxy and resin on a paper plate and mix it with, say, a popsicle stick. The mixture sets up in few minutes and starts getting thicker so you can easily apply it to whatever you are trying to repair without drips. It doesn't matter whether that is wood, ceramic metal, plastic or whatever. It works on everything. Once you get used to the timing, you can learn to stick awkward items, say the arm of a statue for example, and it'll adhere in the proper position without trying to hold it forever or tape it up or something.
The bond sets up fast and the stuff just doesn't let go. That bond is stronger than the material you're repairing in most cases, it's almost invisible and is permanent.
Don't let the mixing process deter you from trying it. It's quite easy. The only tricky part is getting equal-sized globs out of the syringe and you can do that by adjusting pressure on the plunger on whatever side is necessary. You can find it at big box stores, walmart, or michael's.
AkPatsFan
Well-known member
JB Weld is good stuff, use it all the time.
Big/Sky/Fly
370hssv vw6!s tu36v
I know a guy who JB Welded an engine block together that froze up/cracked. The motor still runs.
Giant Octopodes
Well-known member
I feel like people know the value of how to work on your own car, learning a language, being good with technology, playing an instrument, that kind of thing, even if it's not their wheelhouse. So though they might overestimate the difficulty of acquiring those skills, or value placing their time in something else more, I don't know that they're super underrated.
For me I think the underrated skills are survival ones - how to build your own fire, and purify your own water, how to find a water source if one is not immediately apparent, how to find your way if you get totally lost. I say that despite the fact that for a lot of folks it's unlikely they'll ever need those skills unless they actively choose to enter into a situation where they are used. However, if you ever ARE put in a situation where those skills come into play, it's not like you can look them up and learn them at that time. And, not having them could mean that you just don't survive.
So I feel like folks should put more value on ensuring they have those skills as do their kids, just in case. It's like making sure your kid knows how to swim, it's just better safe than sorry is all.
For me I think the underrated skills are survival ones - how to build your own fire, and purify your own water, how to find a water source if one is not immediately apparent, how to find your way if you get totally lost. I say that despite the fact that for a lot of folks it's unlikely they'll ever need those skills unless they actively choose to enter into a situation where they are used. However, if you ever ARE put in a situation where those skills come into play, it's not like you can look them up and learn them at that time. And, not having them could mean that you just don't survive.
So I feel like folks should put more value on ensuring they have those skills as do their kids, just in case. It's like making sure your kid knows how to swim, it's just better safe than sorry is all.
So many good comments that it's hard not to duplicate.
I'd vote for learning to do as much maintenance and repair on your home or car yourself.
I really didn't have a choice as a newly married and broke man years ago. Over time it became a frugal obsession that is now my standard way of life.
To be sure I don't do everything myself, some jobs are just too time consuming. But recent example... we drive a couple of BMW's and mine needed brakes, was quoted 1700 bucks to do all 4 wheels. I ordered factory pads and rotors online, and did it myself in 3 hours... 700 bucks. Dealer wants 150 for a stupid oil change, DIY is less than 50.
When you keep doing stuff like that, the savings add up.
For those younger folks YouTube has a lot of great stuff that I never had 35 years ago.
To be sure, in the old days I surely made some mistakes, but you learn from them and next time you do better.
I'd vote for learning to do as much maintenance and repair on your home or car yourself.
I really didn't have a choice as a newly married and broke man years ago. Over time it became a frugal obsession that is now my standard way of life.
To be sure I don't do everything myself, some jobs are just too time consuming. But recent example... we drive a couple of BMW's and mine needed brakes, was quoted 1700 bucks to do all 4 wheels. I ordered factory pads and rotors online, and did it myself in 3 hours... 700 bucks. Dealer wants 150 for a stupid oil change, DIY is less than 50.
When you keep doing stuff like that, the savings add up.
For those younger folks YouTube has a lot of great stuff that I never had 35 years ago.
To be sure, in the old days I surely made some mistakes, but you learn from them and next time you do better.