stubborn parents/their truck

[Flash]

So a couple of days ago, my dad was driving home in his truck and said he heard a clicking sound. I drove the thing when he got home and it definitely is coming from the wheel/brake/hub assembly and as you speed up it gets faster even as the engine downshifts. The pads are almost down to the backing plate....sigh.
Told him id look at it, he is stubborn and wants to do everything his way but do not want him spending money to get things fixed when i know i can do it for FREE and get the parts cheap from a vendor, autohausaz, etc..last time he took the vehicle in question they claimed the battery was bad, it wasnt, ive been using multimeters since high school and the car never has had any starting or electrical issues.
So they claim that the cat is bad and want to replace it, along with other items that do NOT need to be replaced. I told them not to be suckered into getting things looked at that are not needing to be replaced, they even tried saying the plugs i put in a month ago were bad when they last got it looked at

I know a big part of not wanting to listen to me is because im their kid and they assume someone in a shop knows better and is "honest". The same thing happens with their computers, they are infected with so much spyware and kept taking it in to get it fixed, FORCED them to put the usual anti-spyware etc.. programs on there and comes up with 25348765 infected files :roll:
Is it possible to get them to stop throwing money away when they can get things fixed for FREE by myself? It'd be different if i fixed a few things here and there but im a true DIY'er and have been for about 11 years now. Anyhoo, my dad is retired, and deserves some freebies after busting his ass his whole life and want to help him out.

[gtdragon980]

Sometimes, you just got to live with the fact that some parents just don't think their kids are capable of being smarter than them in certain areas of expertise. My friend is a prime example. I won't say he is a good mechanic and knows how to work on cars but, I have been working on cars for years and sometimes his car needs something small done but his mother will not let him do it himself, with the help of me of course. She thinks we both will fuck it up, even though she is just getting ripped off at the dealer. We are both 20 years old and are more than capable of handling things on our own but, his mother seems to think otherwise.

[E30_Pare]

My pops thinks the same thing, but I have skills he doesn't. As he couldn't wire/solder to save his life.

[Danny]

[imsotyerred]

sounds like your dad should spend some of his retirement time on learning a new thing such as vehicle maintenance

[AndrewBird]

I have the exact opposite problem; my parents are constantly asking for my help on things. Not that I really mind, I want to help them out, but I seriously get 2-3 calls a week from them asking for help with something.

[SmokeE30]

My parents used to be the same way, I'd tell them something and they would totally ignore it saying stuff like oh that's only a problem when you drive ect. Well after wasting a bunch of money and now being on more of a budget they now come to me for anything with their vehicles, as they should they sent me to college for 5 years of automotive after all. Sometimes you just gotta let them waist a couple thousand dollars an say I told ya so to get them to change

[mcskibadee1]

Until about 5 years ago I worked in the family furniture business. The hardest person to work with was my dad. He was stubborn as all hell and would never take any advice from me or anyone in the family for that matter. It seemed the only people he listened to were some dead beat friends of his or his "used car salesman" friend. I gave him an ultimatum about the store and he said no so I left. He refused to progress and thought that a handshake from an honest guy was how business is still done and he went out of business.

He had no way to make income but has a nice house in northern san diego and I told him you can make alot of money renting it as a vacation rental. He was doing well in the summer but as it has died down we have told him to offer discounted prices for extended stays etc. He refuses and says that his place is worth what he is asking and he hasnt had anyone rent it for 2 months. I love him to death but sometimes it is just so hard to talk to him and seeing his bad financial decisions. My mom left him and can;t stand him because of all this. some people just never change.


He used to work across the street from discount tires and would rip him off everytime. He would say"they like me" so they are giving me the best price. One phone call anywhere else and they offered the same service and products for 20% cheaper. I am getting riled up writing this!

[James Crivellone]

Hell I stepped my dad through bypassing the starter relay and feeding power straight to the solenoid on his E34 earlier today.

Turns out it was a bad starter, but a nick WHACK got it working again.

[nickflic3]

Ever since I was a wee lad my parents and family members nick-named me the "fixerman"
If they left me alone with a toy and a screw driver, they would return to it in pieces. As I got older they started to trust me with small items such as space heaters and pencil sharpeners that stopped functioning "out of nowhere" and when they would see me fix these and other things in a matter of minutes, they prety much employed me as a full time maintenance tech lol

That said, they still don't trust me with their newer cars (acura and lexus) but I have been successfull in luring them away from expensive tire shops to good tire deals that they were sketched about. I think it takes time to build up trust because if they are anything like mine, they work hard for their stuff and don't feel comfortable getting help from "just anyone", aka their child who has lived with them since birth and can't possibly have learned skills that they don't know about

[mikeedler]

can't teach an old dog new tricks. I just stopped caring that my Ps wasted money at shops like that many years ago. Be happy you don't have to fix all of the extended families crap for free, it could be alot worse than the present situation.

and please explain how you can tell if a battery is good with a multimeter?

[318isbmw]

can't teach an old dog new tricks. I just stopped caring that my Ps wasted money at shops like that many years ago. Be happy you don't have to fix all of the extended families crap for free, it could be alot worse than the present situation.

I gotta agree with this. In the day to day, I don't talk to my parents about anything that needs to be done. They know my schedule and if I have time I'll definitely help, works easier with no expectations.