Maybe, I can't remember. It's been too long.

The kid has been doing the sound board for the school musical and they are in rehersal so he's had real long days. Anyway, he leaves the lights on in his bug and drains the battery. So, mom and dad are going to bail him out and head up to the school to bail him out. I jump it and we leave my Subi. There's not much gas but, I can't shut the thing off so we make a dash for home. Guess who had a long walk?

Would it have been so hard to say we'll need gas? I could have brought a gas can full.
Anyway, then it's bring back the gas can, jump the POS and bring it home. Oh ya, the charger wouldn't charge it so, mom says why don't you get the kid a new battery? Why can't he walk for a while until he can buy a new battery?

Let's see I seem to remember calling my dad at midnight one night cause the car couldn't go. When the tow truck driver came he found a broken U-joint and said I'm going to tell your old man what you were doing. Dad never said a word.

What do you think should I bust his balls or just get a new battery?

Mom say's get the battery. You'll never win that one. Get the battery and be glad he called you. Someday he won't need you at all and the only time you'll here from him is when you call.

I'd give him a good ribbing and then get the battery

Get him a new battery......make him pay for it ...0 money down, easy payments......that way the wife is happy he's not bugging her for a ride and he learns responsibility.............making him pay for the gas you had to put in is optional

let him buy a new bat with the money from his job. his car, his mistake. when he sees what one costs he'll remember to turn off all electrical systems prior to removing the key. a lesson learned. what is he doing driving around on the reserve? lucky it wasn't 2 weeks ago when it was so cold.

k

the bug is a stick. why didn't he push start the car? buy him a set of jumper cables for his birthday.

k

Buy him the battery to keep the wife happy. Make him walk to the FLAPS to get it....to make you happy.

IMHO,

i think a wash and wax on your 914 is a good way to earn a new battery and a couple of gallons of gas.

I agree with that!! That will be one hellva walk that he will remember.

Hey, he's helped you out alot too ya know.

He jumped it and bump started it for 2 days. He ran the battery down Sunday. I gave him a little ribbing and some words of wisdom about VW fuel gauges. He seemed pretty contrite.

Dave

At least he's involved in school activities, not selling pot to finance a meth habit or robbing houses.

Buy a battery...one of them deep cycle gel cells for boats, they are designed to run flat and come back up....while yer at it, jumper cables, a one gallon gas can (filled) and a AAA card.

Put gas stabilizer in the gas can, otherwise, sounds like a good "Oh Sh*t" kit.
Zach

And for what its worth, needing a new battery is a learning experience. A real boner would be a "his fault" accident, street racing, or touching booze and then the wheel of his car, something like that (which we all did as new drivers, and hopefully got smarter quick.)

For a dead battery and no gas, I'd suggest getting him the new battery, a dose of good natured ribbing, and having him wash and wax your 914 ( I liked that suggestion.)

Zach

When I was about 12 my clutch scattered on my kart, my father made my go

to the library (No there wasn't an internet) and do an in-depth study on the

design of the internal combustion engine. I had to give an oral report on the

2 and 4 cycle engines, how they worked and why. Until I did this report I could

not touch my kart or order any parts. The knowledge I gained would not have

changed the clutch blowing up but it did give me a new perspective on maintain-

ance. And I also learned that "While I am in there..."

Hi,
I have two driving.

Running out of Gas is pretty typical, hell they are typically broke, so I always keep gas around for that call...

The battery, well IMHO that is your fault...keep watching his car,,,he is not smart enough to do it.

I teach them each time something happens, I check the tire pressure regularly, I check all the fluids, when they are not looking.

If its a catastrophic failure, I end up either paying to fix it, or having to loan out a car, so it self preservation.

Once a week, we talk about their car for a few minutes, just so I can get a read on it.

I tend to drive them once per month, just to feel the steering/brakes etc...

Like Rick said above, I am happy to get the call, 24/7 and they know it.
I have gotten out of bed on a few occasions with the gas can.

I will miss them when they are gone, I got one in college now, and I miss him, the next one goes in next year...

the house gets more quiet, and life moves on...but cars keep us together to a certain extent.

Rich

I think the mistake is bailing him out. When my car breaks down I don't call dad, mom, my friend, or anyone else. I call AAA. I'm the one who waits on the side of the road. I'm the one who is inconvenienced.

Buy him a $39 battery and make him wax the 914 (I like that idea) if he doesn't have the money. Make him buy a AAA membership for himself.

Dave:

Do what your wife tells ya to do...

Jeff Foxworthy - "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"...

Look forward to seeing ya again at the WCC in June...In my brand new 1973 teener...

Rick Evans

Dave,

You should thank whatever God you choose that your child feels he can call you for help. I have met many who would never call a parent. People who succeed in life seem to have more choices. This was Gerry's choice calling you and it seems like it brought him the result he wanted even if you and I know, he didn't need it. Life will teach him. You will remember this fondly one day. So for now... Smile, tell him the story about what you did and what your Dad did and know that one day he will have a child with a problem and his only preparation will be his time with you.

Yeah, it's a pain to have to bail him out. And walk to get gas. And buy him a new battery. But you're the one that let him get an old car!

In all seriousness.. My dad has bailed me out on countless occasions. I am always grateful and will always remember what he is willing to do for me. Not so much now, but when your kids get older, they won't have anyone they can turn to except themselves. It's nice and comforting to know they can always turn to their parents in their time of need. You don't want your son to have to resort to (insert whatever horrifying senario you can think of). I am always thankful that even though I'm 28 and self sufficient, in the back of my mind I know I can always ask my parents for help, and if they have the means to, they will.

My brother moved out when he went off to college, and has lived approx 350miles away since. He's 30 now. He rarely asked my parents for anything. As such, he feels like he can't really talk to them or ask for help when he needs it. Who else does he have? Well, his bachelor friends who will drink with him, and his roommates who share his food and washer & dryer. He has no one to turn to. Being bailed out aside (when you're 30, you really shouldn't have your parents bail you out anymore) he doesn't feel like he can talk about or share his problems with anyone. And that's a sad realization. Just some food for thought.

Jen

Edit: Damn.. Rotten Robby beat me to it. Be glad your son thought of asking you for help. The Don would probably a favor in return. I know plenty of people as well that won't call their parents for anything. I can't even fathom it.

I'd buy him a newer/safer car, provide him with AAA card and a cell phone.

Thanks for sharing, Dave. I won't try to add advice to your rhetorical question.... I'm chuckling at the story, but also resting assured with the knowledge that your son has an awesome dad.
These days are soooo short.

I'd give my left n*t to have my son call me for a "rescue". I did it plenty when he was 17. Now he's a 24 year old Marine in north-central Fuchin' Iraq. H*ll, if I knew then what I know now, I'd siphon gas out every night just so's I could rescue him.

Nah, just get him a set of jumper cables. Let it go. it makes for good ribbing later on.

Hell I left the lights on in the Explorer just a few weeks ago. It happens. Bummed a jump and drove home.


You could gift wrap the cables in the classifieds........

Why... there is no reason to.

I get sick and freakin tired of all these pansy ass parents who go out and buy Jr a new car or even a newer used car only to see them F it up big time.

No one EVER bought me a car. I always paid for everything myself (yes even insurance). Most of my cars were held together with Duct tape and bailing wire. It taught me to work on my own cars.

Kids will wreck cars... kids will mechanically trash them. I'd rather have them do that to a beater than a new car.

My daughter has an 81 VW Rabbit convert. I bought it but so far she has paid me back for half of it. She will probably have it all paid back by the time she actually gets her full license. Of course, no driving until she has two months worth of insurance in the bank.

So you go ahead and buy Jr. that new car. Just don't freakin whine about it when he totals it and you have to go buy another one.

>>> off soapbox now<<<<

Amen
I am still one of those "stupid kids" but I don't have stupid parents
I have a 914 that I bought for $2500 and I work on it
I know people, though, whose parents bought them a relatively new mustang, they totaled it, so their parents went out and bought them a mustang GT (since the accident was obviously caused by too little power )
My 914 has held up fine so far though and is probably as reliable and a lot more fun than any new car that I can think of

Let it go. Lesson learned. I'm sure we all did some stupid stuff when we were 17 and all because we were thinking about

I'm several times his age and I still forget and leave the lights on once in a while. You don't do dumb things yourself sometimes? And you want to PUNISH him for that? He already feels like an idiot, so are you thinking that punishing him is going to make him smarter or something?

That's scary, to think of somebody punishing me for all the dumb stuff I do. I have some sobering information. As you grow older you'll begin to forget things, like your son, and do other dumb stuff again. Just like you did when you were seventeen. Hate to think the geezers all gotta be punished for that.

Run down to Westbay, ask for Carl. Buy a jump box. Put it behind the seat. Give the kid a noogie. Add this episode to the memory bank for later use Larry

Buy the kid an optima red-top, or at Kragen/Auotzone one of the orbital gel-cell batteries.

Let him walk and pick it up, and buy the alternator he's more than likely going to need after running on a dead battery for so long... If he doesn't whine too much, let him use your tools to install everything -- hell maybe even lend a hand.

disable the ignition so he has to pull the battery cable to shut the motor off.

problem solved.

I'm 17 and if my dad were to punish me for simple dumb mistakes, well in all honesty I'd feel pretty confused. My dad has helped me out a lot on my car. And knowing that I can call up my dad for any car troubles I have is a really good feeling.
IMO:
If he's got a job then have him pay for the battery himself and possibly help him out with the cost. If he's got no income but is a good kid with good grades then I don't see any reason not to help him out. Or have him pay for the battery in chores or waxing your 914 or somethin'.
Lesson learned.

I like "ROTTEN ROBBY'S " thought. Cut him some slack. These are the times you remember for life.
My dad had to do the same for me, I was parked at the local make out spot,

the girl friend and i had the walk 2 miles in the snow to get him. ( way pre cell phones" Just never let him forgett it . Dave

I still do stupid stuff because I am thinking of and I'm supposed to be grown up.

Wait till he comes home with a tattoo!!!! my 20 yr old got a huge (ugly) scorpion on his leg. His leg not mine he has to live with it.

SO just curious Dave What did you end up doing?

Used battery (nicely charged) and $20 worth of gas, and a little lecture on the reliability of VW gas gauges.

Dave

If you think that's a 'real boner', you need to have a look at the things bad kids do.

.....and 'boner' doesn't mean fuck-up like it did in the 50's.

Ya got a good kid, and you're a good guy Dave.

Cheers to superhero dads!

Jen

Just why do you suppose that I don't divulge every stupid thing that I do to my dad.

If I was a parent with a teenager I'd want them in a safe reliable car. Not saying they should be in nice new car. I'm thinking late 1990's or early 2000 era Toyota Camry or Honda Accord.

I taught my nephew how to drive and we put him in a early 90's era Nissan Maxima. No crashes, mechanical issues etc since he started driving over two years ago in that car. BTW I taugh him how to drive in a newer well tuned 250 HP Audi A4. You can teach the worst of drivers how to treat cars. When he started with me he was clearly not ready to be driving anything, yet his parents were letting him drive their cars. ..scary.

I'd be worried about a kid in a VW bug, but that's me. Fortuantely I dont have to worry about these things often.

What? VW bugs were fine when you learned!

I was one of those kids who never asked his parents for help. In fact, I haven't talked to my mom in more than a year.

Cut the kid some slack. What do you mean "...That stupid..." ? Every idiot kid does something dumb with their car. You can count your lucky stars that this was it. When I f#$% something up, usually there's fire. And likewise, I don't keep an extinguisher in my car. Why, I just remember driving my 356 for a test run (when I was 17) and having to spend a dollar in quarters for the car wash to extinguish my engine bay. And then have to push the thing back home late at night, by hand, by myself. Lucky it was oppressively warm that night... Bah. Humbug!

Well there's a new way to look at it. There wasn't any fire, so it wasn't THAT bad!!