Job Discussion Forums

[Sweetsee]

Gotta love it when you have to junk a perfectly good ride because the tail-pipe broke, and pay to junk it to boot. Any veterans out there ever
have similar experiences?

That and I'd like to take this oppurtunity to wish all of you a very Happy New Year!


Be happy,
s

[Gordon]

This past summer, I had to junk a great car, it was too expensive to bother fixing, about $600 on top of the shaken.
Anyone know the logic behind the implementation of shaken (I know there is very little logic in Japan, at least regarding gov't decision). I heard it was to encourage people to keep their cars in good condition or perhaps to throw away their cars every 4-5 years to buy new ones and keep this booming economy going.

[Sweetsee]

Hi Gordon,

May I ask what was wrong with the car?

What really irks me is that now I see that there are cars available on the net for the price of our repairs, with 2 years shaken. Unfortunately, we
bought our car from a used car dealer without skaken for 35man. And now I'd like to march straight back there and face this guy with my family in tow and ask, "What gives?" Unfortunately my J-spouse says they would just become angry and refuses.

I'll be under the car with a can, tape and wire in an hour. Mend it up so I can drive to the hospital later this morning.


Enjoy,
s

[Gordon]

I forget what the problem was. So then I gave the car away to someone who needed a car quite badly. They went and did the shaken and were told "no repairs" were needed. Looks like I should have had a second opinion. The problem was that all of this went down when i was in Canada, so had to rely on others'opinions.
35 man, go back to the dealer, what have you go to lose? Japanese people are always afraid of losing face, not me, not for that kind of money.

[Sweetsee]

Hi Gordon,

I hear you. I put an aluminium sleeve over the tailpipe where it broke and duct taped it. As long as I drive like a toad it seems to do the trick.
What I'm doing now is looking for a scrap yard. Seems there are truck parts around but not cars.

My friend referred me to that dealer and he had purchased a car there. I'll tell him and see what he says.

I refuse to junk this car because of a tailpipe.

Thanks Gordon. All the best to your family.


Enjoy,
s

P.S. Cars I can almost understand, having children I will never be able
to get my mind around; how they can make it so difficult.

[JimDunlop2]

How much is it to get the tailpipe fixed/replaced? I mean... How hard can it be to get a cheap mechanic with a welding torch adn some spare parts???

[Sweetsee]

Hi Jim and thanks,

Autobachs said 8man. And I take it you have never owned a car here?
But let me ask you this, would that cause my car to run like c.r.a.p.?


Thanks again,
s

[J.]

do indeed make cars run roughly and cut out or even stall. I would first see if you have a student who is a mechanic or who knows a mechanic and maybe can get you a deal. The repair bill is way out of line. Good luck!

[Sweetsee]

Hi thanks J,


I hear you on that, students got to be good for something, eh? I patched it with a Super Dry and if I drive really chilled, seems to be fine.

As far as getting someone to mend it, I think the sound of sucking air through the teeth would be heard clear to where you are. Where is that,
by the way?

Anyway, looking forward to driving around at the speed limit and smiling in the rear-view at all the folks in a hurry to get to the next red light. I will lower the window and give them 4 fingers signifying the speed limit.

Of course, I stop for all pedestrian traffic so this also enrages fellow motorists. I love it, sort of my way of dissing the busybodies!



Enjoy,
s

[JimDunlop2]

[may be going]

sweetsee, you said you see cars dirt cheap on the net. may i ask which websites you see them on? are the cars in good nick?

i am looking at buying a car soon. i don't want a ferrari but i don't want junk. i live in chiba. where is the best place to find cars here?

anyone feel free to pitch in their two cent's.

cheers

[J.]

First let me say thanks on behalf of the walking and bicycle-riding public, Sweetsee, for stopping for pedestrians. In my neck of the woods, which is near Takamatsu in Shikoku, by the way, the drivers compete to see if they can beat you across the crosswalk, passing in front (cutting you off) or behind (scaring the c**p out of you) or sometimes screeching to a halt just inches from you INSIDE the crosswalk (making you faint in the middle of the road). So in my biased opinion it's good that you are slowing down.

However, a broken tailppipe is no fun so I hope you find someone to repair it reasonably before the can of beer heats up and explodes. :) I think it would be worth taking to a small garage and developing a good relationship with a mechanic by repeat business. Here if you become a regular customer, businesses will treat you much better, even bending over backwards to help and I'm sure they would take the long view, and not try to cheat you. Ask your students or co-workers for a recomendation of such a place, maybe family run.

J.

[JimDunlop2]

What J. said is exactly what I was trying to get at... My motorbike mechanic -- the first time I went to him, charged me a fair bit of money, but the more I went to him, the cheaper it got (at least for the labour if not the parts)... But the slick, huge outfits like Yellow Hat and Driver Stand... They just don't care. They get their prices from a price chart....

Seriously, a broken tailpipe should be something that a dude with a welding torch can fix very easily. If you're really stuck & hard up, at least check with your local (new) dealership for your make of car... They can often fix things cheaper than a generic outfit like Autobachs as well.

[Gordon]

Funny thing, I asked a student of mine who is a mechanic to do my shaken (another car, not the one I gave away). He asked if there was a problem with my usual mechanic. I said no, but he (student) was cheaper and I would rather pay my student the money. He looked very sheepish and said that it would disrupt the "wa" and ruin the relationship with my former mechanic. I took his advice and got my old mechanic to do it, who really is very nice and has done minor repairs for free. The Japanese are very loyal that way.

[Sweetsee]

Thanks you guys,

I hear you, too. Just moved and was hoping to find a place around here. And now that I am looking for a wrench I noticed there are heaps in my old neighborhood. People get a little reluctant to weld near the fuel tank, though.

Haven't found the dealer around here. I have noticed one little place nearby where I plan to visit.

Thanks for the support and I will let you know how things go.

I think J or MBG asked about used vehicles on the net, pm me and I will sort you out.

Oh yeah Jim, the reason I thought perhaps you had no wheels was because of the words repair, cheap and...I can't remember, but people around here would never repair anything, ever. You can not imagine the look on the people's faces that come into our house and see that we are remodeling.

Oh and J, let me say that sometimes when yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks, on coming traffic refuses to yeild and cars behind me often pass on the left, hoping to mow down. Of course, I end up looking like a kook for stopping. What I really love are the pedestrians who refuse to cross when I have stopped for them, probably scared.


Enjoy yourselves,
s