...especially because reality is that the extremely vast majority of these people got loans that they could not afford to pay.

How many people did it kill?

It’s finally happening! Skynet is trying to kill us!

Seven Years...

my 2013 ZL1.

I regularly hang out with my mechanic after hours, bring beer and talk cars.

I don’t know about your Alero specifically, but ignition switches have had legitimate issues before. The 5th Gen Honda Preludes actually did have faulty ignition switches that would actually break loose internally, shutting off the car (no accidental rotation required), which happened to me on the freeway. Somehow, I…

that don’t wear their seatbelt are in more danger

Fix implies there is something wrong. there is nothing wrong. Other than stupid people, maybe.

While I generally agree with you, especially in the case of things like the Takata airbag fiasco, which very well may kill you, some recalls are really not necessary.

Haynes is hit or miss. It’s great for most things, and cannot be beat for the price and availability. But an OEM shop manual is ideal, specifically for torque specs, reuse vs new part/fastener requirements, and model/trim specific gotchas.

You sir are a better Jalop than I.

Soon.

forgot to reinstall the caliper bolts

My problem, beyond lacking the tools, skills, knowledge, and garage to do my own work, is that I also have no other vehicle to drive while making these mistakes.

Rear main seal ain’t the end of the world. As long as the compression is good, and you can reasonably assess that the car was even remotely well maintained, it’ll be fine.

pay an extra $100 to get it towed to the shop if you can’t fix it.

I feel like that kind of mickey mouse work exists across the board. My parent’s TL’s bumper ended up popping out on the passenger’s side and just would not stay back in. So I removed some of the screws only to find that some moron just jammed the bumper back on without properly lining it up, and screwed into the…

Naturally they had said nothing about it when I picked up the car.

Any of us who wrench, no matter how good we think we are, can relate to this. What I have terrifyingly found, however, is I seem to make fewer mistakes than many actual mechanics. And even when I do, I fix them. Properly. Replacing an entire assembly if need be.