You can't make this stuff up...

[DerekC]

Yes, I have heard such things. I write service and get those calls...my favorite are the the ones that say there car is making a whumpita whumpita noise and they want me to listen through the phone and diagnose it over the phone...I just say I am unsure but can get a definite answer for $99.50...when you bring it in!

[Tubby]

We use generators on all of our work trucks to power the darkrooms for film developing. Had a guy call me one time said his generator wasn't working. (This guy couldn't change a flat tire, much less think of being a mechanic) I asked him what's it doing/not doing. He said it was running but wasn't putting out electricity. I asked the obvious question if it was plugged in or if he tripped a breaker. He said he checked that and it wasn't it. I told him it would be about 30 minutes before I could get to where he was at. He then asked me if I had a spark plug wrench with me. (mind you now, the motor is working, just no electric output) I asked for what? He said: and I quote: "If it's not putting out electricity, the spark plug may be bad"!

[a3dhunter]

You guys are helping me quite a bit.....makes me know I'm not the only one encountering this kind of stupidity......but it does make me worried about the future of the U.S. !

[pykiller]

That was a great read!!

[BIG IRON]

I once convinced a guy that he needed to have the air in his tires changed every 10,000 miles.
He chased me down the dorm hall when he hot back from the mechanic

[Draco]

A customer of mine was drilling the holes for some pipe uprights for a loafing shed I was going to build him and hit a water line. It was a Sunday and he called me to see if I could fix it for him. I asked what kind of pipe it was. He told me it was round, was not metal and was white. I told him that it was called PVC. He said OK, can you weld it or not?

[SneakyPhil]

I lived in Wisconsin back in '95 and worked as a handy man. The guy I worked for had his son working for him. One day we were doing some yard work when the son had to go take care of something. After a while the guy comes back and askes me to help him change a flat tier. This dude had the car jacked up and the tier kept spining when he tried to loosen the lug nuts. I looked at him and said "well Andy in Texas we loosen the lug nuts before we jack the car up". The dude had never changed a flat. We were 22. We later found out that he was on his way to meet his mom who was takeing him shopping for clothing.

[Rotag]

Last night guy askes for a jump at walmart so i get the cables and he tries it nothing?
good cables connection 2 900 amd battries no way it wont jump

I unhook and he says I got lights but it wont start and this will cost me 500.00 like last time I look in the car put it in park and wola it starts.

[CletusBodeen]

I convinced a kid that all the valve stems had to line up. I laughed for hours watching him roll one back tire then go to the other side and roll that one. He'd come back and see the one he set had moved and would roll it again. I got chewed out for waisting company time but laughed the whole time.

[rjet]

I have a bit of respect for anyone that tries to fix it themselves, at least they are trying.

I have a BIL that rented a car for two weeks so my sister could go home to visit my sick mom. The reason he had to rent the vehicle was due to her windshield wiper blades needed replaced and he didnt have the time to take the car into the shop to have them fixed.
Am glad though that he loves my sister that much, but he is a duufuss.

[Wyatt 545]

Just goes to show how important is it for dads to get their kids out and teach them how stuff works and how to fix things.

[kfd82]

I work in a service department and took a call today from a guy who was very polite, he informed me he was working on his brakes.

After a few simple questions he proceeded to ask me which direction to turn the caliper bolts to loosen them?

I was speechless, I thought I heard him wrong so I asked him to repeat the question. He again asked which direction to turn the bolt to loosen it.

I answered his question and he then asked me to explain it again based on which direction the bolt is facing.

He then said, "okay, I think I've got it"......

REALLY?

I am thinking this guy should not be working on his own vehicle, and definitely not working on his own brakes!!!!

Has anyone ever ran into this before?

Feel free to share other stories......

Wouldn't suggest you try this when taking a wheel off of the left side of a '67 Dodge. Oh and don't jump up and down on the lug wrench thinking its just on real tight.

Or a semi.

I did not know that on some old trailers they put left hand thread on one side so they wouldn't back-out as you rolled down the road. I felt like an idiot and I'm sure that kid got a good laugh....

I'm thinking the guy has run into something like this before. Maybe he tried turning them to the left and they wouldnt budge, so he wanted to call and make darn sure he was correct before he put some heft into it and broke something.

Just a thought.
Obviously, I didnt take the call so I dont really know what he was thinking about.

[Lynda]

It's not just a U.S. thing. Years ago in England, a good friend that I worked with called to ask me where the fuse box was in his house. His lights went out and he wanted to check the breaker. Well, I had been to his house many times, but why on earth did he think I would know where the fuse box was? I told him the obvious places to look and he eventually found it. The irony is that we both worked for British Intelligence (shhhhh), and he is a Cambridge grad. My theory is that some highly intelligent people don't have room for common sense.