Car advice

Oh, your mom had the diesel. Should've said that.

 

No. 2.8 V6 gas.

 

2004, right? Bad break. Only gas Jetta/Dasher to use that type of filter. I think there's a converter kit available.

 

It might've been a '04. I thought it was an 05 or 06, though.

 

I have an '04 Camry that I love (and which I'll be paying off next week -- woot!). It's a great car, and I'll be sad to see it go when I move from here to a city with good public transportation in the next year.

 

Avoid Jiffy Lube. My last visit there some years ago - with basically a gun to my head - was a bad experience and not to be repeated.

Given a hoist and an oil pan to catch the old fluid, I can do better than those folks.

 

Fuckabuncha Jiffy Lube and similar places. I think they really have based their business model on tricking their customers into buying unnecessary add-ons.

 

Precisely.

I stayed to watch these people "work." (Yes, I know that's paranoia ... I don't have children and such ... I kinda need my car, y'know?) The manager walked out to me with the air filter to my vehicle in hand. He said "this is dirty. You might want to think about replacing it. I don't have a replacement."

First off, fella, the paper in those filters can now take a short blast from an air compressor and usually not be affected. Second, it did have some dirt, but was far from clogged or in need of replacement. Third, you just told me you don't have a replacement, so why do you have mine in your hand instead of where it belongs in my vehicle.

He then further washed glory upon himself by trying to offer the ol' $59.99 fuel injection flush. Sir, can you tell me what that does that a small container of $3 fuel-injection cleaner poured into my next full tank of high-test won't do? Yeah .. same effect.

To cap it all off, the tire pressure in each corner of my vehicle was different.

Scare any of you enough? Good.

 

I love how they bring out the air filter like a cat depositing a dead mouse by your feet for approval. I usually take the filter out of their hands, bang it twice on the floor to dislodge any big chunks of dirt, hand it back to them and kindly ask them to reinstall it in my car.

 

As badly as I wanted to do that, they still had my car at that time. That's too much collateral for me to overcome.

But that did make me laugh, OTD. Thanks.