"CodyVella" (codyvella)
11/24/2014 at 01:30 • Filed to: None
5
22|
"CodyVella" (codyvella)
11/24/2014 at 01:30 • Filed to: None | 5
| 22 |
It's Sunday afternoon, you're sitting on your couch shopping for car parts, because as a car enthusiast, that's literally all you do, even if you have no intent on buying said car parts. There's some form of motorsports on the TV in the background, and if you're like me, and are a closet redneck who happens to own nice clothes, it's NASCAR. You have zero intent on leaving the house, or really even leaving the room. Hell, if people weren't going to judge you for wearing an adult diaper, and beer auto-cooled as it entered your mouth, you're not even leaving this couch, because by god it's Sunday and this is your day to do less than nothing! But suddenly, your roommate, friend, family member, anyone really, enters the room. "Hey, I gotta run to the store and your car's blocking me in. Where's your keys? I'll just take yours".
"What is happening?" you ask yourself.
"Did he just ask to use my car, when he has his own car?"
"Why would he do such a thing? Is Brad Keselowski about to get sucker-punched by Jeff Gordon?! HOLY SH—".
"I'll just move my car, it's cool." you say.
You grab your keys and walk out the front door, half naked. This doesn't bother you. The neighbours have all seen you face down surrounded by empty beer bottles at 8am on a Saturday morning. They can deal with you in your underwear. You pull your car out of the driveway, and park it at the side of the road. You then retire back to the couch, and go back to contemplating ordering that Willwood brake kit for your 944. Maybe it's a Trans-Am, hell, it could even be an Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais. That doesn't matter. What matters here is the thought of letting someone else drive your vehicle put you into a state of shock.
You see, as car enthusiasts we use our vehicles as somewhat of an oasis. Somewhere that we can go, and essentially be in out happy place. We sometimes feel that this oasis has been tainted when someone else drives our vehicles; for the most part.
I feel slightly different when it comes to this topic. I have no problem at all letting just about anyone competent enough to posses a drivers license, drive my daily driver. If ANY of my friends were to walk through the door and ask "Hey! Can I borrow your Pathfinder to do some Christmas shopping?" I would promptly toss them the keys and say "Yep! Just remember, there's a tire on the roof so try not to roll it. Also, the rear drums aren't exactly round anymore. So don't be alarmed if you feel some vibrations when you hammer on the brakes to avoid that Santa-Fe that cut you off in the Target parking lot". You see, as much as I love my pathfinder, and as much history and character as that little SUV has, it's just a Pathfinder. Yes it's mine, and yes I feel at home in it, but if lets say those not-quite-round rear drums freak the driver out, and they lift off the brakes, and slam into the back of that Santa-Fe looking for the spot closest to the doors, then I'll just buy another one. I mean they go for what, like $2500?
I think I'm the only one who wants to drive an R50 Pathfinder anyways.
Now my 944, that's a slightly different story. I won't let just anyone drive my 944. But I still share the joy. Many of my friends are car enthusiasts, and I know they're more than competent drivers. So of course I let them drive my 944. It's a car, it was meant to be driven and enjoyed. And trust me when I say this; that car means A LOT to me. That car had a history with me before I even cared about cars. I even taught my best friend of 10 years how to drive standard in that car. And she could care less about cars. Hell, she owned a base model Cavalier before she barrel rolled it. And if she asked me to borrow it today, I'd say "Sure! Just remember, the little red switch next to the shifter controls the cooling fans. turn it on whenever you stop".
This, this is a slightly different story.
She even left me with some clutch still left.
So oppo, I wanna know: How do you feel about letting others drive your cars? Either your daily driver, winter beater, or pride and joy. Does anyone else get to enjoy the drivers seat?
pip bip - choose Corrour
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:29 |
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i only get upset if they change the seating position
Michael Maguire
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:33 |
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I never let ANYONE drive my car. I bought my first new car at 20 (2014 Mustang) and I always end up parking at the end of my driveway with at least two cars in front of me. I move my car daily so others in the family can get out, but no one but a ford tech and myself has driven my car. Even then I felt worried getting free oil changes from ford...
puppyknuckles
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:33 |
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Totally depends who it is. And how drunk I am.
Decay buys too many beaters
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:36 |
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My beater Saab gets driven by anyone who asks, usually with a half joking "if you crash it, make sure it's totaled". Scooter (which I actually care about) gets driven by whoever feels like riding it, this occasionally includes strangers who comment about it to me. Motorcycle gets ridden by other motorcyclists as long as they have an equivalent bike I can try out.
FR-S is just me or people I trust, and always with me in the passenger seat (Except one time I traded cars for a few hours with a friend and his E92 m3)
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CodyVella
> pip bip - choose Corrour
11/24/2014 at 02:40 |
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This right here is everything.
The Magic Rev Matching 4Runner
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:40 |
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I always let people drive my truck, and then they promptly loose that privilege when they won't shut the fuck up about how slow, loud, bumpy, big, small, smelly or dangerous it is. People that love it like I do get to drive it whenever.
JustWaitingForAMate
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:47 |
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My last few cars I've been pretty anal about who drives them. But my mate, has somehow managed to drive every car that I've ever owned before I have.
My Ford Laser, he drove down to the local bottle shop for my father..when he was 17, because he 'looked old enough'. He got the beer.
My first Commodore, I bought from a dealership that he used to work at, and just decided to show up at again when my car was being detailed before delivery. He texted me a picture.
My second and third Commodores were a given, since I bought them from his dealership.
Now my last Commodore, he called me in the morning while driving, and I knew he was in his car just by the background sound. That afternoon he called me back and I could hear this...rumble in the background.
me: 'I'm going to ask this, and I know the answer already, but you're in my car right?'
him: 'You know, Walkinshaw, they do good work.'
me: 'There isn't a word to describe how much I hate you.'
him: *rev* *rev* *rev* 'Yeah....real good work.'
jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:50 |
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Sure, plenty of people have driven her. I've taught a small handful of women to drive stick in it, all of my family including a bunch of extended family, many friends... I'm not super shy with my car. I will say that it feels weirder than I expect when someone not in my family drives it without me. I was itching to get my keys back in a way that I wasn't expecting when I let my friends use it as the getaway vehicle at their wedding.
Steve in Manhattan
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:50 |
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Not so much letting others drive my car ... been there, done that. But I have shopped for a clutch for a car I had back in the 90s. Just to see what it would cost today, if I did the labor. Still think I could ....
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:50 |
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On 2 occasions:
1. I'm drunk and don't want to sleep in it.
2. We are somewhere that has no restroom or toilet paper, and they have to poop.
Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:51 |
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Right now, I dont care. I wont have my license until sunday (if I pass) and Im not that good at driving stick, plus my ranger has a brand new clutch so theres not much you can do right now to break it. But once I get my license and get good at driving stick, No one is getting in my drivers seat but me. I have yet to develop a relationship with my truck. But when I do, things will change
Sam
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 02:59 |
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I only let people drive my car if I know them pretty well. As in, knowing where they live. I'm happy to take anyone for a ride if they want, or to let them take it for a jaunt around a parking lot.
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CodyVella
> The Magic Rev Matching 4Runner
11/24/2014 at 03:22 |
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When people drive my Pathfinder, the response is usually something along the lines of "Wow, that has a kickass factory stereo for a 14 year old SUV. But why is it so slow?"
PS9
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 04:02 |
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PS9s Guide to letting people borrow your car.
Step one: You don't.
thebigbossyboss
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 06:59 |
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Approved. For me, it depends. My one buddy crashed my car into a snow bank. He is never allowed to drive my car again. But I would loan my car to other people if they could drive stick, I don't mind.
Friends have driven it in the past.
Oh yeah, one more thing. It's a base model Cavalier.
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/2003-chevrolet…
Oontzoontzoontz
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 07:12 |
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The only people who have driven my WRX besides myself are Jack Baruth, and some Subaru techs.
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The Magic Rev Matching 4Runner
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 08:16 |
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See, I'm close to getting that, but I have one semi-working 6" speaker in the passenger door haha
Nibbles
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 09:17 |
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I'm the same with my Dakota as you are with your Pathy. It's a truck; people are going to want to borrow it regardless. So, when someone asks, my response is something along these lines:
"Sure! Sign this waiver real quick. Why? Well, the rear drums aren't round and the front brakes are spongy. This truck doesn't stop without downshifting. What, you don't know how to downshift? It's okay, this is the perfect truck to learn on. You push the clutch in, grab the next lowest gear and release the clutch. Oh, and don't rely on the parking brake. What? Why? Well the rear drums are out of round and the brake likely won't grab. So just keep it in gear. Which gear? Ugh. If you're pointed downhill then put it in reverse. Uphill, put it in first. Make sure the gear has grabbed before you exit the vehicle. Oh, and the steering is still a bit loose, be ready to compensate for any quick maneuvers.
Yes, it's 4 wheel drive. No, you don't need to use it. Because it's nice out. No, not even if you have a heavy load! Just, look bud, just don't... don't fuckin'... god damnit fine I'll drive"
Nobody else touches the driver seat of either the Volvo or the Saab, save the wife.
twochevrons
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 09:21 |
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I have a very relaxed attitude toward letting people drive my cars, which was influenced by visits to an old college friend of my father's. Before I could drive, he'd let me hare around a paddock in the go-kart that he built for his kids, or take us to the local kart track and let me loose in his son's racing kart. About a week after I had started driving, we went down to visit him, and he tossed me the keys to his E34 540i M-Sport (with 6-speed!), which was an incredible, if slightly terrifying, experience for a novice driver.
I've had the opportunity to drive a lot of more mundane, but still interesting, cars through him, too – a couple of Peugeot 306s and 205s (including a GTI), an Audi A3 TDI, and a Skoda Scout TDI (basically, a manual, diesel Jetta wagon with AWD – DO WANT). Most interesting of all, though, was my last visit, when I got behind the wheel of his newly-completed project car – a rally-prepped Peugeot 205GTI, with the 16v engine from the 405Mi16. Words do not even begin to describe how it felt to drive that thing, but 'rocket-propelled,' 'ludicrously twitchy,' and 'OHMYGODFAST' probably convey the majority of what was going through my mind behind the wheel.
More recently, a complete stranger let me drive his Citroën DS, a car that I have dreamed of for my entire life. I was pretty relaxed about letting people drive my cars before, but especially after that experience, if somebody wants to drive one of my fleet, and they're not a complete tosser, I'd enthusiastically let them. Sure, I might cringe a bit once or twice, but I realise that my cars are somewhat unique in this day and age, and I'd much rather let others enjoy them than to just keep them to myself.
Actually finding people who want to, though, is another matter – outside of my family, I don't know anybody who can drive a manual, which counts out the Scirocco and the MGA (although I'd gladly teach someone), and although I'd be happy to let people behind the wheel of the 850R, its numerous quirks and as-yet unproven reliability tend to put people off. It's hard enough even convincing my wife to drive it – every time she has, something (entirely not her fault) has gone wrong.
So, if anybody in the Twin Cities area wants to take any of those cars for a drive, let me know!
Imirrelephant
> pip bip - choose Corrour
11/24/2014 at 09:59 |
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Seating position is easy for me since it's all the way back. If you mess with my mirrors, though...
Captain of the Enterprise
> CodyVella
11/24/2014 at 13:00 |
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I can't get people to drive my car, I offer but they always respond with a disgusted "no" or "Why would I want to?" and despite my mixed feelings about my car I am offended when this happens
Jack Rumbaugh
> CodyVella
12/04/2014 at 09:37 |
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The 2004 Sequoia, no problem. The 2012 Challenger? No one but me drives it. Don't even ask. If I'm dying, call 911, do not drive me to the hospital.