Yeah there's hardly any excuse for running up a $600 phone bill, that's stupid. Only time I ever ran up a big phone bill is when a telco gave me early access to mobile data (it was a new thing back then) in an unlimited amount for free, and then started billing for it without notifying me.
I once brought a Jeep down off Moab Rim with a vice grip clamping the broken front brake line shut. Oh, and the Jeep had a disc brake conversion in the back but didn't have the right size master to actually actuate them. So it had one working caliper. Moab Rim, for those who don't know, is both gnarly and has some serious exposure. We had the Jeep strapped to another one and were using much, much engine braking to get it down along with tentative use of the one functioning caliper.
Idiot builder knew the brake lines were rubbing, but "they all do that, it's not a big deal" and "you don't really need brakes on the trail". Two people took helicopter rides to the hospital when the abraded line blew out. The Jeep was at a standstill at the time, but not for long given the slope. Good thing it bounced off another Jeep and landed in a gully, because it's about 800' to the river off the cliff right there. The guy who built it was not in the Jeep, nor was he one of the ones hurt.
Brakes are important. This idiot needs to fix his car or park it. I don't care if he's poor. He's stupid and he may not be the one who pays for the stupidity.
Keith Tanner wrote: Brakes are important. This idiot needs to fix his car or park it. I don't care if he's poor. He's stupid and he may not be the one who pays for the stupidity.
Agreed. If someone is at the point where they're driving an unsafe car around like that, they either need to budget their life better or own a cheaper car to leave more money for maintenance / repairs. And if that's still not enough, then plain and simple, they can't afford to own a car. There's no excuses for E36 M3 like this. To put it simply, being poor is not, has never been and will never be a valid excuse for endangering peoples' lives.
Anyone who, racks up a $600 phone bill they can't pay, thinks paying phone bill is more important than brakes, is willing to drive a car on the road with non functioning hydraulic brakes endangering not only themselves but all those on or nears the roads they drive is an idiot who not only has no right to be driving the streets he has no business breathing our air.
A long time ago I went to a Jeep driving school. One thing we were taught. Never touch the brakes when going down a steep slope. Transfer in low, 1st. gear. If necc. turn the engine off.
Keith Tanner wrote: Idiot builder knew the brake lines were rubbing, but "they all do that, it's not a big deal"
A customer told me that when I pointed out that he needed new tires because they were down to the wear bars. "All cars hydroplane."
No, no they do not.
Just now, someone left in a (unnamed) with ball joints massively wiped out and brakes with calipers stuck to the point that you need 1/4 throttle to move, grinding at all four corners, and one of the pads actually fell out past the hanger. Some days I wish there were laws in place that would allow us to define a car as unsafe, but I also know that such laws would be abused by the 99% that make the 1% of us look bad...
iceracer wrote: A long time ago I went to a Jeep driving school. One thing we were taught. Never touch the brakes when going down a steep slope. Transfer in low, 1st. gear. If necc. turn the engine off.
Always good practice to avoid the brakes in that situation (brakes are more likely to end in sliding and aren't as smooth), but depending on how steep things are and what gearing you have to work with (especially with an auto), engine braking alone isn't always enough to get you slow enough.
Exactly. Come out to Moab some time 
There are some drops that you'll want to take in steps. There are times for engine braking, time for wheel brakes and time for throttle. Turning the engine off removes one of those three options. Blowing out a brake line removes another.
This particular failure took place while the Jeep was at a standstill facing up a slope. Lines blew out, pedal went to the floor because of idiot disc brake "upgrade" in the rear and the Jeep commenced to proceed backwards.
It should also be pointed out that this Jeep was driven to Moab and driven to the trailhead, so the failure could have just as easily happened on the road. Regardless of how you feel about the necessity of brakes in a very specific situation, having your braided lines rub on your big fat tires is always a Bad Thing and should be addressed before you do anything else.
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