For Pretty Hands!

Tires Age… Just Like We!

Craig — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:12:27 +0000

Recently 20/20 and others have exposed a critical piece of information regarding your vehicle’s tires: just like you and I, they age; and the older they get the more dangerous they become.

(more…)

Calculated Obsolescence or Random Self-Destruction?

Craig — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 19:42:34 +0000

My 2003 Chevy truck tried to self-destruct first quarter of this year. (more…)

Cash is King!

Craig — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:34:54 +0000

Well here it is, a little over a year after my article on my wife’s purchase of a pre-owned 1996 Buick LaSabre, to replace the one she totaled the November before that. Our technician, who sold her the car to begin with, had to replace the engine. He felt so bad about the engine giving up the ghost within the thirty days after the purchase that he did it free of charge. Now that’s rare! Who knows what the cost would have been if we had to pay for it. He did not say…and we didn’t ask!

(more…)

Another Bruised-Up Angel Added to Heaven’s Hall Of Heroes

Craig — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 17:39:00 +0000

Well, as unbelievable as it sounds, my daughter rolled her car last week; the same car she was going to use for her commute to college (about 60 miles or so) this coming September.

(more…)

Thought I’d Never See The Day…

Craig — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:56:31 +0000

That my daughter would change her own front brakes. The other day my daughter, Torrie (trainer in the video, ““Basic Car Maintenance For Pretty Hands! ®”), made an attempt to learn how to change her front brake pads. How proud I was of her! Few men try to do their own maintenance let alone a young lady! She was driving her car home one evening and noticed that her brakes were grinding. What that means is whenever she applied the brakes. She could feel vibrations in the pedal and in the front of the car that were non-existent before. In addition, there was a definite metal-to-metal scraping sound, like someone dragging a knife across a sharpening hone. (more…)

Everyone Should Have Their Bankroll Ready!

Craig — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 20:52:44 +0000

It’s been a little over two months since my wife had her bad car wreck, where she totaled her 94 Buick Lasabre. An auto technician friend of hers found the same car at an auto auction. The good thing was that it was two years newer and better looking; my wife was ecstatic. The money we got from the insurance paid for the newer Buick and once again my wife was mobile. I knew that there was no way that she was going to be left at the house without transportation. (more…)

Compartment Heat…Check.

Craig — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 00:18:04 +0000

Remember “My Daughter’s First Car”? Well, she had her first problem with it! With the onslaught of “Mr. Freeze,” everyone has the opportunity to perform an important test: Compartment heat…check!

How many of us actually test the heater in our cars until it is actually time to use it? How many of run the air conditioner during the winter months? Which isn’t a bad idea once in a while for a short time, it keeps things lubricated. Well, my daughter finally found out that her heater didn’t work and during the worst time…cold weather. (more…)

For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me… Job 3:25

Craig — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 20:32:01 +0000

Well, my worst fear regarding my wife’s driving has been realized: she had a serious wreck Nov. 30th.

Our county maintenance people had tree-cutting equipment parked on a country road (which has a 55 mph speed limit) without road signs. What’s worse is that they were parked on the crest of a hill, just after a deep valley. As my wife crested the hill, there they were and WHAM; right into the chipper she went. (more…)

Her First Oil Change

Craig — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 18:13:54 +0000

The other day, I had the privilege of helping my seventeen year-old daughter change the engine oil in her car. It was something that she really wanted to do and I couldn’t believe it. Of course, she couldn’t do it by herself because she has no tools; she had to use mine and that’s okay.

I asked her why she didn’t go to a “quickie” oil changing station, pay $20 (or whatever it is) and not get grungy. She said that she didn’t trust the kind of oil that they put in the car, besides, it was something that she always wanted to try. She’s like her mother. who likes to work on her own car. (more…)

My Daughter’s First Car

Craig — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 15:14:43 +0000

My wife had an old friend who died, leaving a recently overhauled Chevy Cavalier behind. Everything was mint. The gentleman was an old farmer, who was the fifth generation to live on his farm. Of course the land was paid for, and needless to say, he was wealthy; so, he put lots of money into the car. About a year after his death, his surviving brother sold the car to my wife for our daughter. The car went for a song and dance, my daughter putting up 30% at first until she gets more money. She was ecstatic to say the least!

I had no idea that this transaction was taking place. I came home from work one day to find a strange red car in my driveway. This was nothing new to me: raising four teenagers, we needed a parking lot, not a driveway…and our driveway is almost four hundred feet long. Inquiring about the car, I found out that my daughter now had her own vehicle. (more…)