Instructions on how to get your teenagers to cause car problems

[gracebowen]

1. Take them grocery shopping
2. When they drive you nuts hand them the car keys
3. Send them to the car.

They had the ac on the radio blaring and 2 doors open.
Needless to say I needed a jump.

Gotta love them kids.

 

[BeatriceC]

Other options:

1. Hand them the keys.
2. Let them change the oil unassisted for the first time. (Don't do this step unless you've taught them how to do it and let them do it supervised at least once.

Protip: Lay a thick layer of newspaper down so when the kid comes in covered in oil, the clean up isn't so bad.

Advanced engine destruction:

1. Replace radiator relays that had gone bad.
2. Replace cracked radiator hose
3. Leave 14 year old to put everything back together.
4. Fail to double check that everything was actually back together.
5. Overheat on the Jewfish Creek bridge on US one heading down to the Florida Keys.
6. Get safely pulled over, pop the hood.
7. Pop the hood and discover that said 14 year old failed to remove all the tools from the engine and also failed to replace the radiator cap.
8. Do emergency repair work on a bridge many feet in the air over open water.

 

[Birdman666]

I was going to say, WHEN DID TEENAGERS EVER NEED INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO DO THAT?!

This is something that comes natural to them. They are highly skilled at it.

(As was I at that age...)

Hey, My very first car ever (age 17) went swimming! (Who knew they weren't good swimmers, eh?!)

My friend's car (with five of us in it) did a barrel roll... (I was a passenger in that one - age 15!)

So, as applying your teenage vehicular talent goes, draining the battery to the point where you're stranded in the parking lot... is fairly minor, compared to what they will probably think of next... :11:

Actually consider yourself fortunate that they didn't reverse the positive and negative connections when they went to jump it! Now THAT would be talented! First you drain it, then you fry it!

(DUDE! YOU HAVE A PHONE... WHAT WAS THAT BATTERY DEAD TOO?! OKAY THEN, SO YOU GRASP THE CONCEPT OF PLAYING MUSIC WITHOUT RECHARGING THE BATTERY, DRAINS IT, RIGHT?!)

NO?! WELL, YOU GRASP THE CONCEPT NOW, DON'T YOU?!


HOW ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF PUT THE GROCERIES AWAY, AND DON'T SAY ANOTHER WORD...

 

[Weezerj]

Actually consider yourself fortunate that they didn't reverse the positive and negative connections when they went to jump it! Now THAT would be talented! First you drain it, then you fry it!

This one is done nicely by the wife as well. I was out of town and the first phone message stated that she was drifting down the river with no power and not sure what to do.

The second message stated that one of her friends was married to a mechanic and he said try switching the connections on the battery so they were going to try that.

.......at this point I am sure of 2 things....alcohol is involved and that battery is toast.

.......and sure enough, when I returned home I found the battery outside. the positive post was completely melted off and sitting next the battery in its pile of re-hardened plastic.

I never did understand the logic behind switching the battery connections. I imagine the thinking was that the boat was running along nicely and then they hit a bump and the connectors jumped off the battery posts and switched positions?