Posts: 14,287
Threads: 294
Reputation:
31560
Joined: May 2015
Unfortunately my gf owns a 2007 PT Cruiser which by itself is a PITA car to work on, but one really annoying move they made is to use two completely different bulb configurations for the front and back turn signal lamps.. Every car and truck I've ever worked on uses the same bulb front and back, but not the Piece of Trash Cruiser. It's not a big amount of money, just $5, but multiply it by however many of those junkers they sold and it adds up.
To make it even funner i had to take off the front wheel just to access the turn signal lamp. And to add insult to injury they put some cheesemo plastic access panel to that ONE lamp in the wheel well..
Whoever thinks up this bullsh+t really ought to be beaten daily and three times every Sunday...and drowned afterwards just enough to make their lives unbarable..
Elect me as king of the earth for just one day and we'll do away with these dweebs forever!
In the immortal words of my old man, "Wait'll you get to be my age!"
Chicago sounds rough to the maker of verse, but the one comfort we have is Cincinnati sounds worse. ~Oliver Wendal Holmes Sr.
Posts: 19,105
Threads: 235
Reputation:
177655
Joined: May 2015
Working on cars now days is ridiculous. Damn engineers.
Posts: 3,267
Threads: 195
Reputation:
16836
Joined: May 2015
Location: Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!
I had the same problem in my 2 year old Nissan Maxima. Had to take the front tire off to get to the lamp housing. But that was the hard way I found out later. I should have taken the whole front bumper off to gain access to the lamp housing. Who in their right effing minds would think of taking the effing plastic bumper off just to change a burned out light bulb?!?!?! Oh and to add insult to injury, the headlight itself was just under $100 to replace. That's why I don't even change my own oil anymore. I just had the hood up for the first time on my new vehicle a couple weeks ago. Just wanted to see the engine. Looked nice!
Deceitful, two-faced she-woman. Never trust a female, Delmar, remember that one simple precept and your time with me will not have been ill spent.
Posts: 14,287
Threads: 294
Reputation:
31560
Joined: May 2015
My last favorite car to work on was a 74 Toyota Celica GT.. Everything was accessible and it ran like a top for 10 years.. I wish I had kept it now. Last one I saw for sale was going for $30,000 for a $2000 car.. And that was in Chicago..
In the immortal words of my old man, "Wait'll you get to be my age!"
Chicago sounds rough to the maker of verse, but the one comfort we have is Cincinnati sounds worse. ~Oliver Wendal Holmes Sr.
Posts: 10,718
Threads: 63
Reputation:
57608
Joined: May 2015
I stopped buying "American" cars because of the difficulty in working on them. Our last new one was a Grand Prix back in 2008. Think it was the last year for those POS cars. My wife's first new car and we got rid of it after 30k miles because it had three instances of not starting, two bad turn signals and the headliner just fell down on its own. The battery also went dead at 10k miles, requiring a small miracle to replace.
My Ford Explorer was a lot of fun, but not much easier to work on.
That said, her 2012 Camry has been easy enough, and I've got a 2013 Juke that is great when I've had to work on it. Nothing major so far, but it's the first car since my 69 Camaro that I can change the oil in without any kind of a wrench. Takes me all of 20 minutes, and most of that is drip time.