I Am a Mechanic

As you probably know- not for a living. Anyway it's warm today and the suzuki is in the driveway, temptations temptations, but everything left to do to it will take more time than I have before my wife goes to work tonight. Thursday and Friday look good though. That's our only vehicle at the moment.I'm being real picky about what vehicle I'm gonna get next. It cannot be automatic, or front wheel drive. The problem around here is, people are charging thousands for their used beat up piece of junk. And everyone in this town drives as if they are afraid to miss the red light ahead. They abuse the hell outta their cars, stepping on it every time. I wouldn't buy a used vehicle from anyone in this town! No front wheel drives because the engine sits sideways, only one side of it gets cooled with electric fans, the damn thing has to be cherry picked in order to change out a part or water pump etc....No automatics because when an automatic transmission fails, you are screwed and aren't going anywhere. At least with a standard you can feel how worn the clutch is getting by it's grab. If it's getting soft in 3rd then it may be a good idea to plan for a clutch job. As far as fuel pumps go (which is another part that can leave you stranded), I miss the mechanical on block pumps, I really do. But any vehicle I have or get, will have a hole cut above the fuel tank for easy access to the pump, saving hundreds. I'm not a big performance or looks guy, I love a good simple reliable easy to work on vehicle :) The kind you can bring your boombox out & jam while smoking cigarettes and have a cold beer in bliss, knowing you can fix any damn thing that goes wrong with it.