Are you a car guy?

[Disoblige]

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Beyond is easily 75% car enthusiasts, which is fine. But car guys? No, car guys live the car guy lifestyle. Going out and buying a car for $60-100k is not that lifestyle.

What does price have to do with being a car guy? Someone could buy a 60-100k car (new or used/out of warranty) and work on it.

[Darkane]

Most definitely yes.

First thing I do generally is check autoblog, and forums for new news.

I have a cool car, love talking cars. Will go to the drag strip, auto cross, half mile and car shows.

I’ll go to dealerships just to look at the pretty new cars and admire. (And free coffee lol)

I don’t wrench as much, but will still do suspension, wheels, oil changes, tune ups.

I’ve done as much as full pan to intake rebuilds, custom turbo kits (aside from the welding and bending), and owned everything from 80s firebird to new GTRs.

My desire to wrench is slowly dwindling I must say, but my enthusiasm for ownership and information is getting worse.

[gmc72]

I voted yes. I'm a former mechanic of 15 years, but am currently not working in the industry any more. I go to car shows, drive around and look at the new models on the dealer's lots, occasionally work on my own vehicles, but nothing major. My personal definition of a car guy is pretty broad, if you like cars (new and old), then you're a car guy in my books.

[heavyD]

Unfortunately yes. It's a disease as I can't commit to any car and it's probably cost me a lot of money over the years. Fortunately new cars are so good these days that you really don't need to drop money on mods so I find I'm doing a lot less of that.

[heavyD]

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I've never even changed my own oil, or brake pads on any of my cars. The only work I've ever done is to swap wheels.

Hope I'm still a car guy haha.

Never even changed your own oil? For shame. I have changed the oil for every car I've owned. It's a nice way on a weekend to have some one on one time with your car in a garage setting. In my DSM days I had turbo swaps down to a science where I could do one and have the car running in a couple of hours or less.

[HiTempguy1]

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What does price have to do with being a car guy? Someone could buy a 60-100k car (new or used/out of warranty) and work on it.

Well, I mean you could argue a point I didn't make, but it doesn't change what I said.

Somebody buys a $60k car and then does work on it themselves? Car guy. Buys a $60k car and then goes and pays a shop to do work to it? Car enthusiast. Its a pretty simple delineation, spectating vs participating.

[killramos]

I think the term you are looking for is mechanic

Some people are far more interested in the end result than the process.

[J-hop]

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Well, I mean you could argue a point I didn't make, but it doesn't change what I said.

Somebody buys a $60k car and then does work on it themselves? Car guy. Buys a $60k car and then goes and pays a shop to do work to it? Car enthusiast. Its a pretty simple delineation, spectating vs participating.

It is weird because when these guys talk at meets they always say “I”, “yea I swapped to aluminum xxx cfm heads, ported the intake manifold, dropped a high lift cam in. I put in MS fuel and spark management. I put in a turbo kit with a xx trim compressor xx turbine Garrett turbo, meth injection etc etc etc”. You think holy shit this guy knows how to turn wrenches. Then it ends up they had everything done by a shop and the guy just knows how to regurgitate information.......

[ExtraSlow]

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i never said people who dont do their own tricks arent car guys, i said its so undefined this kind of question without further clarity is completely useless.

I left it completely open because I wanted to hear people's opinions of themselves, not anything measured against an objective external standard.

[HiTempguy1]

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It is weird because when these guys talk at meets they always say “I”, “yea I swapped to aluminum xxx cfm heads, ported the intake manifold, dropped a high lift cam in. I put in MS fuel and spark management. I put in a turbo kit with a xx trim compressor xx turbine Garrett turbo, meth injection etc etc etc”. You think holy shit this guy knows how to turn wrenches. Then it ends up they had everything done by a shop and the guy just knows how to regurgitate information.......

For once, you and I can agree on something. For instance, Rage always talks about how he had turbo hondas and shit back in the day, I thought he actually did some work himself. It became apparent a while ago that's not the case. I'm not saying there is ANYTHING wrong with that, but the people are simply not the same (in mindset or know-how). Which is why when people sing the praises of car reviewers like Chris Harris as if they actually know anything I get riled up.

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Some people are far more interested in the end result than the process.

I'd be surprised if you have turned a wrench on anything in your life :p

That's more of an observation than an insult though. First year of eng degree, and even after I went into Instrumentation, 90% of the class hadn't either. Different strokes for different folks. Hence why I separate people into car guy and car enthusiast. They are completely different beyond liking cars in a general sense, and it even shows in what they drive and what they talk about when it comes to cars.

[reiRei]

am not a guy, but like cars? so.. car person? yes.

[killramos]

Colour yourself surprised then.

In any case I am way more interested in new technological developments that are coming out of the auto sector and the results that modern development has led to than filling up oil. You are absolutely correct in that regard.

That and I enjoy actually driving my cars.

[SKR]

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I think the term you are looking for is mechanic

Some people are far more interested in the end result than the process.

It's partly that for me, the other part is that in the time it takes a mechanic to do it, I can make more money than he costs me so it would be dumb to spend my time doing his job. I could do it, it just often doesn't make sense to.

[killramos]

Totally

I am very interested in where along the spectrum of:

I have my chauffeur drive me around in my 250k Maybach which I like quite a lot
to
I literally fabricated a car from scrap metal with my bare hands which I also like quite a lot

When you become a “car guy”

[J-hop]

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It's partly that for me, the other part is that in the time it takes a mechanic to do it, I can make more money than he costs me so it would be dumb to spend my time doing his job. I could do it, it just often doesn't make sense to.

For most of us that isn’t the case. I’d say an average shop rate would be $120/hr, plus the markup on parts the shop charges which means you’d have to make ~$270k/year + for that to make sense. Most of us don't


Edit: forgot diagnostic fees too

I don’t work on my cars during work hours so doesn’t really make sense either. Only makes sense if you would be otherwise making money if you weren’t under your car.

Fact is most people don’t know how, that’s fine. Not saying I do, a buddy of mine has an LS powered car into quadruple digit WHP. I am a complete bumbling amature comparatively speaking, I don’t classify myself a true car guy though either. Just like I’m not an athlete, I just dabble in the gym and rec leagues

[Thaco]

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For most of us that isn’t the case. I’d say an average shop rate would be $120/hr, plus the markup on parts the shop charges which means you’d have to make ~$270k/year + for that to make sense. Most of us don't


Edit: forgot diagnostic fees too

I don’t work on my cars during work hours so doesn’t really make sense either. Only makes sense if you would be otherwise making money if you weren’t under your car.

Fact is most people don’t know how, that’s fine. Not saying I do, a buddy of mine has an LS powered car into quadruple digit WHP. I am a complete bumbling amature comparatively speaking, I don’t classify myself a true car guy though either. Just like I’m not an athlete, I just dabble in the gym and rec leagues

Not to mention, My workday is limited, so working on my own car is not detracting from my income, its simply reducing my spend, its double dipping, i still make the same money i would any other day, but i am also saving the money not paying shop labor.

(edit, i see you did add that in your edit, glad it makes sense to others too)

[HiTempguy1]

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When you become a “car guy”

Well, if you bothered reading, I already said. Participating vs spectating. Its very straightforward. I understand that that more than likely puts you outside the car guy group, but that's alright. I'd say the same thing about a "hockey guy" who doesn't actually play hockey and just watches. You aren't a race car driver unless you actually, you know, race a car (and auto-x is pushing the definition as it is).

The Allen key for Ikea furniture doesn't count as turning a wrench, just to be clear since it seems to be such a difficult concept for you to grasp

[dirtsniffer]

if you can't rebuild a transmission you are not a car guy

[Asian_defender]

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if you can't rebuild a transmission you are not a car guy

wanna help me do a clutch change on a 06 civic then?

[SKR]

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For most of us that isn’t the case. I’d say an average shop rate would be $120/hr, plus the markup on parts the shop charges which means you’d have to make ~$270k/year + for that to make sense. Most of us don't

I don't make that much either. What I mean is, the mechanic has thousands of hours of experience and tens to hundreds of thousand of dollars worth of tools. It would be an investment of much more than $120 an hour for me to have the same ability that he does. He's cheaper than I am so he does the work.

Edit: If it sounds like I'm saying working on vehicles is for dirty peasants, that's not what I mean. I just mean I can fuck around for a weekend trying to get something done, or I can send it to a shop during the week and then drive it all weekend. I get much more enjoyment out of that. Some people love to work on cars. Good for them. I don't think one or the other qualifies or disqualifies you to be a car person.