Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[dragoncar]

Why do people have so many Amex cards? Aren’t the best bonuses “once in a lifetime”?  It seems like the other bonuses are not very attractive or carry annual fees

Can you just buy target gift cards?  Or an expensive returnable item, returned for store credit

I don't want to drag things too far off topic so I'll try to knock out one succinct reply. Amex cards have Amex Offers which are basically opt-in rebates. Most are useless but some are gems. For example, $50 back when spending $100 at Shipt. Shipt is a personal shopping service that only works at Target where I live. Add in some overhead and careful selection of items and I think it's around 40% off. As to how to get lots of Amex cards... that's a long story but I'll point out that I'm married and we have lots of no fee Amex cards largely for this benefit and that authorized user qualify independently so they multiply the benefit. Sadly, purchasing via shipt, I can't buy gift cards and to maximize I need to target a cart value of no more than $100 so large items are ineffective.

@RoadRunner suggests donating. I thought about that too. It's not how we prefer to give and the deduction isn't likely valuable to us. If I could stack the tax deduction (as I have in years past), I'd be far more game for it. They also suggest foods that can be stored a long time. We tend to eat a lot of produce and perishables so overstocking would take a long time to go through. I like the gardening ideas as I'm just getting into it. In general though, I just don't want to buy "stuff" so it's got to meet a usefulness bar or be a consumable.

The other challenge I find myself stuck on is that some items are overpriced on shipt compared to Target. They have to make their money somehow... and Target it's all that competitive for us on consumables in the first place so a 50% discount becomes 40% becomes 20% becomes... not worth the bother if I'm not a little careful.

My out is considering flipping some electronics. E.g. digital cameras or tablets or what not. I figure I can make a 30% profit margin on it but I really don't enjoy reselling.

I overthink this stuff sometimesoften.

Thanks for the explanation.  I didn't see the Shipt offer on my card, so must be targeted?  You got one thing right -- the vast majority of those offers are completely useless

[Alfred J Quack]

I got hit by a motorcycle recently and broke a finger (all other things are good though). Unfortunately this means I can't follow a woodworking course I wanted to sign up for (paid for by my boss) and I also can't DIY several things I was planning (including baby-safety measures).

[Linea_Norway]

I got hit by a motorcycle recently and broke a finger (all other things are good though). Unfortunately this means I can't follow a woodworking course I wanted to sign up for (paid for by my boss) and I also can't DIY several things I was planning (including baby-safety measures).

That sounds annoying. Can't you just follow the wood course anyway? And look at what others produce? At least you will learn something?

[Alfred J Quack]

I got hit by a motorcycle recently and broke a finger (all other things are good though). Unfortunately this means I can't follow a woodworking course I wanted to sign up for (paid for by my boss) and I also can't DIY several things I was planning (including baby-safety measures).

That sounds annoying. Can't you just follow the wood course anyway? And look at what others produce? At least you will learn something?

I could but doing is so much better than only watching in regards to something like Woodworking. It's not just the knowhow but also feeling what goes right.
It's also kind of a requirement to evaluate what you built to see where you went wrong. Theoretics are learnable from a book or YouTube too.

[Taran Wanderer]

Was visiting with one our HR people and I noticed a list of retiring employees on the whiteboard. I asked what the requirement was to get retirement recognition, and I found out the rule of 80 is used. So, either age + years of service is more than 80, or if you’re at least 60 years old, you get a retirement party and gift upon leaving. I’m at 65 now (I’ve been at the same place for a long time), but 7.5 more years is probably not in the cards. 20+ years at the same company, and I probably will not be eligible for a “retirement” party.

[Cali]

Woke up on my birthday and my Personal Capital showed me at $XX0000.32

I was excited about all the zeros because I’d hit a new number. I did not buy myself any “I deserve this” gifts. Coworkers looked at me like I was a crackhead for being excited about this.

[secondcor521]

Woke up on my birthday and my Personal Capital showed me at $XX0000.32

I was excited about all the zeros because I’d hit a new number. I did not buy myself any “I deserve this” gifts. Coworkers looked at me like I was a crackhead for being excited about this.

If I saw that, my budget for celebrating would be 31 cents!  ;-)

[ixtap]

We had to shuffle money around because an expense planned for this summer was available for 40% off last month and the credit card was due before the next RSU vest date.

Taking advantage of every possible work savings program makes for tiny paychecks, which requires more planning than the old dump what's left into savings plan.

[chrisgermany]

@ Taran Wanderer:
Age 65 and 20+ is more than 80 in my math book. Typo?

[Fresh Bread]

@ Taran Wanderer:
Age 65 and 20+ is more than 80 in my math book. Typo?

The score is 65 not current age.

[Stachetastic]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

[Mezzie]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

The used electric car I bought has all those things, and it wasn't until I went to a car wash (much more drought friendly than washing it myself) that I realized there were no instructions or symbols for putting my car in neutral! Luckily the atendant had seen confused faces like mine many times and was able to help me out.

[zolotiyeruki]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

Might the emergency brake been engaged?  Barring that, it's probably some super simple thing you missed.  Gosh, there are times when I appreciate cars of the late-90's to early '00's--new enough to have OBD-II, old enough to avoid some of the more recent silly things manufacturers have added.

[solon]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

The used electric car I bought has all those things, and it wasn't until I went to a car wash (much more drought friendly than washing it myself) that I realized there were no instructions or symbols for putting my car in neutral! Luckily the atendant had seen confused faces like mine many times and was able to help me out.

How do you put an electric car in neutral?

[dragoncar]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

Might the emergency brake been engaged?  Barring that, it's probably some super simple thing you missed.  Gosh, there are times when I appreciate cars of the late-90's to early '00's--new enough to have OBD-II, old enough to avoid some of the more recent silly things manufacturers have added.

Depends what “came to life” and “nothing” mean.  Did the engine start?  Did you push the gas pedal?  Did the engine rev?  Did the engine die?

[Stachetastic]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

Might the emergency brake been engaged?  Barring that, it's probably some super simple thing you missed.  Gosh, there are times when I appreciate cars of the late-90's to early '00's--new enough to have OBD-II, old enough to avoid some of the more recent silly things manufacturers have added.

Depends what “came to life” and “nothing” mean.  Did the engine start?  Did you push the gas pedal?  Did the engine rev?  Did the engine die?

"Came to life" meant the screen turned on, the dash lit up, and my seat started moving. "Nothing" meant I pushed the gas pedal and the car went nowhere. It did not rev, made no sound. After some research when I got home, I discovered I needed to push the brake while simultaneously pushing the On button to start the engine. A super simple task that would have been helpful for one of the dealers there to point out. I was the youngest driver present by at least 30 years, I couldn't have been the only one who struggled with this.

[RWD]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

Might the emergency brake been engaged?  Barring that, it's probably some super simple thing you missed.  Gosh, there are times when I appreciate cars of the late-90's to early '00's--new enough to have OBD-II, old enough to avoid some of the more recent silly things manufacturers have added.

Depends what “came to life” and “nothing” mean.  Did the engine start?  Did you push the gas pedal?  Did the engine rev?  Did the engine die?

"Came to life" meant the screen turned on, the dash lit up, and my seat started moving. "Nothing" meant I pushed the gas pedal and the car went nowhere. It did not rev, made no sound. After some research when I got home, I discovered I needed to push the brake while simultaneously pushing the On button to start the engine. A super simple task that would have been helpful for one of the dealers there to point out. I was the youngest driver present by at least 30 years, I couldn't have been the only one who struggled with this.

Don't cars with a normal key usually require you to put your foot on the brake to start too? And manual transmission cars usually require the clutch to be disengaged. But I can understand being confused by an unfamiliar process. I almost put a Lotus Elise into a curb because I pressed the start button without holding down the clutch pedal first...

[Fastfwd]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

Might the emergency brake been engaged?  Barring that, it's probably some super simple thing you missed.  Gosh, there are times when I appreciate cars of the late-90's to early '00's--new enough to have OBD-II, old enough to avoid some of the more recent silly things manufacturers have added.

Depends what “came to life” and “nothing” mean.  Did the engine start?  Did you push the gas pedal?  Did the engine rev?  Did the engine die?

"Came to life" meant the screen turned on, the dash lit up, and my seat started moving. "Nothing" meant I pushed the gas pedal and the car went nowhere. It did not rev, made no sound. After some research when I got home, I discovered I needed to push the brake while simultaneously pushing the On button to start the engine. A super simple task that would have been helpful for one of the dealers there to point out. I was the youngest driver present by at least 30 years, I couldn't have been the only one who struggled with this.

My car does the same. Think of pushing the button without the brake pedal as turing the key to the accessories position. With brake pedal depressed you are turning the key to the starter position.


Electric/hybid cards are weird too the first time. Turn the key and nothing at all happens except for a symbol in the dash that tells you are ready to go. Then depending on how far you push the gas pedal and hybrid may or may not start the engine eventually.

[Bracken_Joy]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

The used electric car I bought has all those things, and it wasn't until I went to a car wash (much more drought friendly than washing it myself) that I realized there were no instructions or symbols for putting my car in neutral! Luckily the atendant had seen confused faces like mine many times and was able to help me out.

Oh god. Once upon a time, a friend of my roommate's parked his car at his house when they took a work trip out of town together (carpooled in roommate's car). Friend had parked in a stupid spot, prevented us from turning around, but luckily had left keys. The thing was... it was a prius. And I'd never driven a prius. I turned it on just fine, and drove it across the property and reparked.... and couldn't figure out how to put the fucking car into park. I didn't have my phone with me. I had my head out the window yelling for my husband, but he had music on and couldn't hear me. Eventually I figured it out, but it was via like... putting on the parking brake? Or something? I don't even remember, but that shit was NOT intuitive, and nothing was labeled.

I was very happy when we recently went to an EV event, and the cars were much easier to figure out the controls. We tried a tesla and a... volt, or bolt, or something.

[barbaz]

My MPP: I’ve never driven a car with a button or automatic transmission, so I have no clue what y’all are talking about.

[RWD]

My MPP: I’ve never driven a car with a button or automatic transmission, so I have no clue what y’all are talking about.

You've never rented a car?

[Bracken_Joy]

My MPP: I’ve never driven a car with a button or automatic transmission, so I have no clue what y’all are talking about.

You've never rented a car?

Dunno where Barbaz lives, but I know a common problem in Ireland, for example, is all the rentals are manual, and so people from the US visit and are screwed. Can't drive them. Anyway, point being, very possible there's international options with far fewer automatics around.

[jordanread]

My MPP: I’ve never driven a car with a button or automatic transmission, so I have no clue what y’all are talking about.

You've never rented a car?

I have, and I still have no fucking clue what is going on here.

[Dollar Slice]

MPP: whenever people talk about cars I have no clue.

+1! I haven't driven a car in about 17 years.

[Loren Ver]

I drive old cars and struggle when I rent a fancy car with the extras.  I was  in Puerto Rico once, and rented this little hatch back.  I could not figure out how to get my key out of the ignition.  After some internal freaking out, I grabbed the book and looked it up.  It was in a random chapter but I eventually found it.  Yeesh.

I also dislike button start cars.  I enjoy putting in a key and turning :).

LV

[jordanread]

I enjoy putting in a key and turning :).

That's what she said.

[gaja]

I went to one of those "test drive a car for a good cause" events yesterday over my lunch break. For every person who test drove a car, the local YMCA got $20. Easy enough. I signed in, they told me to pick any car--the keys were in them. I picked the first one and couldn't find a key, only a fob. Ok, push start. Got it. Pushed the On button, thing came to life, put it in gear, and....nothing. Tried it 3 more times before I gave up and completed the rest of my survey and left. My 14 year old Corolla doesn't make me do any tricks before it turns on and goes.

The used electric car I bought has all those things, and it wasn't until I went to a car wash (much more drought friendly than washing it myself) that I realized there were no instructions or symbols for putting my car in neutral! Luckily the atendant had seen confused faces like mine many times and was able to help me out.

How do you put an electric car in neutral?

I don’t know the technical details, but it must have something to do with disconnecting/switching off the regeneration. In the leaf you change between D, R, and N. I have tried using N while hypermiling in steep terrain, but find I usually get more out of the regeneration. Mainly because our steep hills come with hairpin turns, that are rather scary if the car rolls too fast.

[merula]

MPP: When logging into Personal Capital today, I got the message "Do you have enough cash on hand? It looks like you only have 2 months worth of expenses on hand to cover an emergency like a sudden job loss."

Granted, my spending has been somewhat higher recently as I'm finishing up a home renovation, but even accounting for that, I have ~4 months of expenses in my savings account alone plus more than a year of expenses in the taxable Vanguard account. Where the heck did they get two months???

I like how Personal Capital does a better job of tracking investments than Mint, but overall I've been pretty disappointed by their "advice" and by how, at any given time, one of my accounts isn't updating correctly and there's no timeline for a fix. (Right now it's my tIRA!)

[fuzzy math]

Funny car stories. Once I had to rent a car and the only thing left was a Mercedes. I had no idea how to open the gas tank door. Called my mom in a panic after fumbling around for 10 mins at the gas station - I was going to be late to return the vehicle and late for my flight.


My MPP: I filled out the paperwork to lower my HSA contributions to $6850 since the IRS had changed the amounts. 2 days later they reversed the change back to $6900 and I just don't know if I can deal with my HR dept again.

[RWD]

Funny car stories. Once I had to rent a car and the only thing left was a Mercedes. I had no idea how to open the gas tank door. Called my mom in a panic after fumbling around for 10 mins at the gas station - I was going to be late to return the vehicle and late for my flight.

Our Porsche has no button or lever for the fuel door. You have to just know where to push on the fuel door to release it (and the car has to be unlocked). Was the Mercedes similar? Probably a German thing to overengineer it.

[jordanread]

Funny car stories. Once I had to rent a car and the only thing left was a Mercedes. I had no idea how to open the gas tank door. Called my mom in a panic after fumbling around for 10 mins at the gas station - I was going to be late to return the vehicle and late for my flight.

Our Porsche has no button or lever for the fuel door. You have to just know where to push on the fuel door to release it (and the car has to be unlocked). Was the Mercedes similar? Probably a German thing to overengineer it.

I will not ever mention the embarrassment I experienced when I first got Jeep Cherokee, and couldn't figure out how to put gas in it. It was a 2000. Well, not in this thread anyway.

[dragoncar]

[Teachstache]

I am the mom of a sick kid (cancer - he's doing much better).

I'm in a bunch of support groups online.  I realized this week I may be one of the only ones with no go fund me, no fundraisers, no t-shirt selling, no #mysickkidsnameSTRONG, no financial free fall, no trying to juggle work and caring for the child. 

We used FU money for me to quit working entirely.   

And THIS is why we save our money, too, CindyBS.

[fuzzy math]

Funny car stories. Once I had to rent a car and the only thing left was a Mercedes. I had no idea how to open the gas tank door. Called my mom in a panic after fumbling around for 10 mins at the gas station - I was going to be late to return the vehicle and late for my flight.

Our Porsche has no button or lever for the fuel door. You have to just know where to push on the fuel door to release it (and the car has to be unlocked). Was the Mercedes similar? Probably a German thing to overengineer it.

Yes push on the door... I pulled on it and inspected every interior button in the car for a release lever to no avail.

Sent from my H1623 using Tapatalk

[Taran Wanderer]

Funny car stories. Once I had to rent a car and the only thing left was a Mercedes. I had no idea how to open the gas tank door. Called my mom in a panic after fumbling around for 10 mins at the gas station - I was going to be late to return the vehicle and late for my flight.

Our Porsche has no button or lever for the fuel door. You have to just know where to push on the fuel door to release it (and the car has to be unlocked). Was the Mercedes similar? Probably a German thing to overengineer it.

I will not ever mention the embarrassment I experienced when I first got Jeep Cherokee, and couldn't figure out how to put gas in it. It was a 2000. Well, not in this thread anyway.

I bought a new, expensive mountain bike years ago (still have it), and despite an engineering degree from a prestigious university, I had to ask for help to remove the front wheel.  In my defense, my previous bikes had a normal lever/can quick-release and the new one used the lever more like a wrench. Still, it was embarrassing.

[Taran Wanderer]

@ Taran Wanderer:
Age 65 and 20+ is more than 80 in my math book. Typo?

The score is 65 not current age.

Correct, next year will be 45 + 20 = 65. To get to 80, I’d have to stick around for 7-1/2 more years.  Probably not going to happen. Then again, I could be having so much fun that it might, but then it would be about the fun and not the money.

[Friar]

Funny car stories. Once I had to rent a car and the only thing left was a Mercedes. I had no idea how to open the gas tank door. Called my mom in a panic after fumbling around for 10 mins at the gas station - I was going to be late to return the vehicle and late for my flight.

Our Porsche has no button or lever for the fuel door. You have to just know where to push on the fuel door to release it (and the car has to be unlocked). Was the Mercedes similar? Probably a German thing to overengineer it.

Yes push on the door... I pulled on it and inspected every interior button in the car for a release lever to no avail.

Sent from my H1623 using Tapatalk

I work for an automotive company so I like to think I'm clued up with the latest and greatest when it comes to vehicle tech.

However, when I bought my previous car (2006 Audi - ein deutsches auto!) it took me a good few minutes at the fuel station to figure out how to open the fuel door. It didn't need a key and the push pop-open mechanism didn't work either. It turns out it was just a pivot door and I had to push the other side of the door (closest to the pivot point) to swing it open. That made me feel dumb!

Another fun story is when I was having to refuel a work car. Most of the cars we make are autos but we still produce manual gearboxes for entry level vehicles in, mostly, European markets. This car was a manual and I hadn't driven that particular transmission before. I got to the fuel pumps and had to manoeuvre around some parked cars, only to find I had no idea how to put it into reverse!

Again, after several minutes of trying and thinking "this is going to be really embarrassing having to ask someone for help" I managed to figure it out.

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

[RWD]

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

My Subaru BRZ has the collar system to lock out reverse as well. Keeps from selecting it accidentally instead of first gear. The salesperson explained how it worked to me though so I never had to try and figure it out for myself. I also test drove a Honda S2000 which had a slightly different system to lock out reverse. If I recall correctly you had to push the stick down before selecting the reverse gear.

[LennStar]

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

Oh lol, yes. Once I was on tour with a friend and his car, and then I just needed to move it a few meters.

HOW THE HELL SHOULD YOU KNOW THAT?? Grab it at the puss... the ring and UP and you can get the gear. Never seen that before.

[Friar]

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

My Subaru BRZ has the collar system to lock out reverse as well. Keeps from selecting it accidentally instead of first gear. The salesperson explained how it worked to me though so I never had to try and figure it out for myself. I also test drove a Honda S2000 which had a slightly different system to lock out reverse. If I recall correctly you had to push the stick down before selecting the reverse gear.

I guess it's not an uncommon system and it totally makes sense why it exists. My current car has the push down and select method which is prone (most likely because of my driving) to get selected when I try and put it in 1st.

On a side note, the BRZ is a great little car. Blue is much better looking than the red of the GT86. I almost bought one a few years ago but ended up with a 350Z instead. Not the most frugal of choices but one that I don't regret!

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

Oh lol, yes. Once I was on tour with a friend and his car, and then I just needed to move it a few meters.

HOW THE HELL SHOULD YOU KNOW THAT?? Grab it at the puss... the ring and UP and you can get the gear. Never seen that before.

Pure guesswork!

[barbaz]

My MPP: I’ve never driven a car with a button or automatic transmission, so I have no clue what y’all are talking about.

You've never rented a car?

I rented a car this weekend and the motor would only start if I stepped on the clutch. It also turned the motor off when I released the clutch without a gear in. Fancy.

Automatic cars would cost more, I think that’s why I never had one

[PhilB]

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

My Subaru BRZ has the collar system to lock out reverse as well. Keeps from selecting it accidentally instead of first gear. The salesperson explained how it worked to me though so I never had to try and figure it out for myself. I also test drove a Honda S2000 which had a slightly different system to lock out reverse. If I recall correctly you had to push the stick down before selecting the reverse gear.

I guess it's not an uncommon system and it totally makes sense why it exists. My current car has the push down and select method which is prone (most likely because of my driving) to get selected when I try and put it in 1st.

On a side note, the BRZ is a great little car. Blue is much better looking than the red of the GT86. I almost bought one a few years ago but ended up with a 350Z instead. Not the most frugal of choices but one that I don't regret!

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

Oh lol, yes. Once I was on tour with a friend and his car, and then I just needed to move it a few meters.

HOW THE HELL SHOULD YOU KNOW THAT?? Grab it at the puss... the ring and UP and you can get the gear. Never seen that before.

Pure guesswork!

We rented a car years ago with that same pull-the ring-up thing for reverse.  Spent 10 minutes trying to find reverse gear before having to go back in the office and ask.
More embarassingly, I had reverse gear die on me when heading off an a multi-day work trip.  Wouldn't engage no matter how hard I pulled so every time I parked I either had to find somewhere I could drive straight through, or push the car back out of the space before I could drive off.  I didn't discover the real problem until I was 200 yards from home at the end of the trip.  We had two cars at the time.  One had reverse bottom left, the other top right.  The picture bit in the top of the lever in this car was loose and had got turned by 180 degrees...

[Hirondelle]

When people complain about gasprices going up, but you have no clue as you bike/walk to work and don't have a car.

[BDWW]

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

My Subaru BRZ has the collar system to lock out reverse as well. Keeps from selecting it accidentally instead of first gear. The salesperson explained how it worked to me though so I never had to try and figure it out for myself. I also test drove a Honda S2000 which had a slightly different system to lock out reverse. If I recall correctly you had to push the stick down before selecting the reverse gear.

I guess it's not an uncommon system and it totally makes sense why it exists. My current car has the push down and select method which is prone (most likely because of my driving) to get selected when I try and put it in 1st.

On a side note, the BRZ is a great little car. Blue is much better looking than the red of the GT86. I almost bought one a few years ago but ended up with a 350Z instead. Not the most frugal of choices but one that I don't regret!

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

Oh lol, yes. Once I was on tour with a friend and his car, and then I just needed to move it a few meters.

HOW THE HELL SHOULD YOU KNOW THAT?? Grab it at the puss... the ring and UP and you can get the gear. Never seen that before.

Pure guesswork!

We rented a car years ago with that same pull-the ring-up thing for reverse.  Spent 10 minutes trying to find reverse gear before having to go back in the office and ask.
More embarassingly, I had reverse gear die on me when heading off an a multi-day work trip.  Wouldn't engage no matter how hard I pulled so every time I parked I either had to find somewhere I could drive straight through, or push the car back out of the space before I could drive off.  I didn't discover the real problem until I was 200 yards from home at the end of the trip.  We had two cars at the time.  One had reverse bottom left, the other top right.  The picture bit in the top of the lever in this car was loose and had got turned by 180 degrees...

I'm glad I'm not the only that's been flummoxed by the collar thing. I went to a dealership to test drive a car I was looking at. After chatting a bit with the salesman(yes I can drive a manual), he handed me the keys and I went to get the car. It was parked in the front row facing the street. Couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get it in reverse, but the lot was sloped ever so slightly, so I rolled backwards out of the spot with the clutch in.  Swallowed my pride and asked the salesmen about it before I left for the test drive. He laughed and said others have been confused about it too, so there's that.

[jordanread]

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

My Subaru BRZ has the collar system to lock out reverse as well. Keeps from selecting it accidentally instead of first gear. The salesperson explained how it worked to me though so I never had to try and figure it out for myself. I also test drove a Honda S2000 which had a slightly different system to lock out reverse. If I recall correctly you had to push the stick down before selecting the reverse gear.

I guess it's not an uncommon system and it totally makes sense why it exists. My current car has the push down and select method which is prone (most likely because of my driving) to get selected when I try and put it in 1st.

On a side note, the BRZ is a great little car. Blue is much better looking than the red of the GT86. I almost bought one a few years ago but ended up with a 350Z instead. Not the most frugal of choices but one that I don't regret!

My previous experience with reverse on a manual car is to push the gearstick further to the left, or perhaps push the gearstick down and then to the left. The reverse in this car was activated by pulling up a collar on the stick and then moving into the correct position. Easy once you knew how, but not intuitive at all.

Oh lol, yes. Once I was on tour with a friend and his car, and then I just needed to move it a few meters.

HOW THE HELL SHOULD YOU KNOW THAT?? Grab it at the puss... the ring and UP and you can get the gear. Never seen that before.

Pure guesswork!

We rented a car years ago with that same pull-the ring-up thing for reverse.  Spent 10 minutes trying to find reverse gear before having to go back in the office and ask.
More embarassingly, I had reverse gear die on me when heading off an a multi-day work trip.  Wouldn't engage no matter how hard I pulled so every time I parked I either had to find somewhere I could drive straight through, or push the car back out of the space before I could drive off.  I didn't discover the real problem until I was 200 yards from home at the end of the trip.  We had two cars at the time.  One had reverse bottom left, the other top right.  The picture bit in the top of the lever in this car was loose and had got turned by 180 degrees...

I'm glad I'm not the only that's been flummoxed by the collar thing. I went to a dealership to test drive a car I was looking at. After chatting a bit with the salesman(yes I can drive a manual), he handed me the keys and I went to get the car. It was parked in the front row facing the street. Couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get it in reverse, but the lot was sloped ever so slightly, so I rolled backwards out of the spot with the clutch in.  Swallowed my pride and asked the salesmen about it before I left for the test drive. He laughed and said others have been confused about it too, so there's that.

The better half has a habit of parking manuals in gear*. We rented a car in Mexico a week or two ago. When the guy came out to inspect it upon return, he damn near sent it down a 20 foot  sheer drop. Our rental was good for another 16 hours, so I was a bit concerned.

*"It's an emergency brake. Parking isn't an emergency!"
"It's a transmission!! It's not supposed to help you stop!!"

[RWD]

*"It's an emergency brake. Parking isn't an emergency!"

That's crazy. Pretty sure it's officially called a parking brake...

[jordanread]

*"It's an emergency brake. Parking isn't an emergency!"

That's crazy. Pretty sure it's officially called a parking brake...

E-brake, I thought. She still engages it, but not without the vehicle being in gear. Drives me crazy. Also, the quote is not a direct quote, just what I think goes on in her head*. There is some justification, in that the e-brake doesn't work well in her vehicle, and with just it, it would roll down a hill (that we have never parked on). Still, I grind my teeth every time. The rental was just a catalyst that was recent.


*I'm notoriously bad at this at the best of times.

[RWD]

*"It's an emergency brake. Parking isn't an emergency!"

That's crazy. Pretty sure it's officially called a parking brake...

E-brake, I thought. She still engages it, but not without the vehicle being in gear. Drives me crazy. Also, the quote is not a direct quote, just what I think goes on in her head*. There is some justification, in that the e-brake doesn't work well in her vehicle, and with just it, it would roll down a hill (that we have never parked on). Still, I grind my teeth every time. The rental was just a catalyst that was recent.


*I'm notoriously bad at this at the best of times.

I believe the proper procedure when parking is to:
1) Set the parking brake
2) Release foot from [normal] brake pedal to let the car rest on the parking brake
3) Put the car in gear (failsafe in case the parking brake fails)

[Fresh Bread]

*"It's an emergency brake. Parking isn't an emergency!"

That's crazy. Pretty sure it's officially called a parking brake...

E-brake, I thought. She still engages it, but not without the vehicle being in gear. Drives me crazy. Also, the quote is not a direct quote, just what I think goes on in her head*. There is some justification, in that the e-brake doesn't work well in her vehicle, and with just it, it would roll down a hill (that we have never parked on). Still, I grind my teeth every time. The rental was just a catalyst that was recent.


*I'm notoriously bad at this at the best of times.

I believe the proper procedure when parking is to:
1) Set the parking brake
2) Release foot from [normal] brake pedal to let the car rest on the parking brake
3) Put the car in gear (failsafe in case the parking brake fails)

Yep, my owner's manual for my manual (ha) tells me to leave it in gear while parked. I know because I checked it while arguing with my insurance company about who's fault it was when my car rolled away down a hill (handbrake was on, I hadn't put it  in gear, handbrake is obviously shit but I hadn't followed instructions in manual so my fault). I think the poster's OH is not using the handbrake at all?

[Morning Glory]

*"It's an emergency brake. Parking isn't an emergency!"

That's crazy. Pretty sure it's officially called a parking brake...

E-brake, I thought. She still engages it, but not without the vehicle being in gear. Drives me crazy. Also, the quote is not a direct quote, just what I think goes on in her head*. There is some justification, in that the e-brake doesn't work well in her vehicle, and with just it, it would roll down a hill (that we have never parked on). Still, I grind my teeth every time. The rental was just a catalyst that was recent.


*I'm notoriously bad at this at the best of times.

I believe the proper procedure when parking is to:
1) Set the parking brake
2) Release foot from [normal] brake pedal to let the car rest on the parking brake
3) Put the car in gear (failsafe in case the parking brake fails)

Yep, I've had the car actually roll down a hill into a ditch because the brake failed. I have always left it in gear since then.