Are you "that guy" in your neighborhood?

You know your neighbors....this all started a month ago when we had a nice spell of spring weather and I washed my wife's Trailblazer in the driveway. The neighbor comes up and gives me that look like "wow, people actually wash cars still? I go to the corner full service for $26.00.

This also kicked in today when a service dropped off samples of dog food since people are too busy or forget to buy dog food and they will deliver it to your house.

Are you that GRM or old school guy?

1. Wow, you actually change your own oil? Sure, three cars......

2. Wow, you actually have a vegtable garden? Who grows tomato's? Yep, best tasting tomato in the world is from my yard.

3. Wow, you actually fertilize your own yard? Don't you have to have a service do that?

4. Wow, you actually paint your eaves and trim? Yup, since the house is mostly brick, I can paint it all in two days for $100. As soon as I have a spare $1500; I am going to hang aluminum soffits and eaves. Your spare $1500 paid the "college" team painters last summer.

5. Wow, what is that loud noise in your garage? air compressor. why do you need that? pumping up basketballs.

6. Wow, you work on cars? isn't that what the Lexus dealer is for?

what about you?

My neighbor's "Wow" comments are usually filed as complaints at county property maintenance inspector's office.

Yep, and I'm pretty much an amateur wrench on the best days. I'm regularly surprised that even the older (than me) DIY guys are very wary to work on their own cars. Mostly it seems to be a lack of working knowledge and fear issue. To me it seems like a lot of guys, including my dad, stopped paying attention to car maintenance around the time fuel injection was introduced. Dunno.

Wow, your lawnmower doesn't have a key start?

Yep, thats me. My car never goes to a garage. I have a hard time paying somebody to do something I can do myself. Should of seen the look on my neighbours face when I set my alignment after I changed a tie rod end. Couple of homemade "toe sticks" I originally made for the race car, and a tape measure saved me $70. (or whatever a front end alignment costs nowadays.

I get the "we'll have to build a car (for me) one of these day"

In my neighborhood, "That guy" is the guy who doesn't cut his own grass, change his own oil, etc.

I suppose I am "That guy" in other regards though. "That guy" who had to test the dixie horns 50 times, you know, to make sure they were working properly. "That guy" whose basement is occasionally lit up with a bright flash of flames at 3AM. "That guy" who has to leave a 20' long pair of black marks in his driveway because he doesn't like parking the racecar with rocks stuck in the slicks, and is to lazy to get 'em off by hand. "That guy" who's constantly grilling, drinking, laughing, and listening to music with his buddies till 3AM.

Knock on wood, no complaints so far though. Next door neighbors are retired, almost deaf, and really like us for some reason. Next door neighbors on the other side have a gazillion dogs that we never complain about, and are nice, cool, young folks. Met the people behind us when their kids were trick-or-treating last year, and they said they've never heard us partying too loud, too late.

With five(5) cars in the driveway, I am always doing something if the weather is good. The only thing that is causing me issues right now is the oil change on the MS6 since I dont have the right tools to change out the cartridge oil filter comfortably. The neighbors are much happier now that I have moved the race car and trailer to another location. The new neighbors are always amused when they realize that there are two miata sitting in the garage and that our daily drivers are outside.

poopshovel wrote: In my neighborhood, "That guy" is the guy who doesn't cut his own grass, change his own oil, etc.

Ditto. That's half the reason we moved out here. Moral of the story, if ya don't want to be hassled by the neigbors, get away from rich people. These folks think we're a little odd, since mine are sportscars instead of pickups or muscle cars, but nobody cares about the noise/parking because they all have their own.

friedgreencorrado wrote:

poopshovel wrote: In my neighborhood, "That guy" is the guy who doesn't cut his own grass, change his own oil, etc.

Ditto. That's half the reason we moved out here. Moral of the story, if ya don't want to be hassled by the neigbors, get away from rich people. These folks think we're a little odd, since mine are sportscars instead of pickups or muscle cars, but nobody cares about the noise/parking because they all have their own.

I don't get hassled or anything bad, just a wierd look or expression; wow, you actually change the oil on your lawnmower instead of dropping it off at the shop? can you really sharpen your own blade?

Well... I was the complete "That guy" for a while. Did my own lawn, built my own cage, engine and fabricated my own parts... remodeled my own bathroom, did the plumbing, wiring... clean the gutters, painted the window sashes... but then last fall my 2nd lawn tractor lunched the motor (steep angles/hills are bad for motors with no sump apparently) and decided to spend the $45 every 2 weeks on a lawn "guy" instead of buying a new tractor. He starts in May.

That is an extra 2hrs working on my race car. Now I'm looking for someone to bathe me and wipe my ass so I can get an extra 20 minutes a day!

This is awesome.

I live in a apt. you get real weird looks for changing you oil there. Not to mention when people notice you have real trees in your apt.

We're pretty DIY on my street--and I'm in a decent neighborhood.

Wow the inside of your cars are actually clean and not cluttered with napkins, soda cans, etc.

Wow you actually drive cars that aren't 3 days old.

Wow you drive cars that have three pedals.

Wow you mean you actually don't pay some monkey at Walmart to change your oil.

autoxrs wrote: Wow you drive cars that have three pedals.

That is my favorite one! LOL

I bought a new Nissan 200SX out of college and my mother-in-law looked at it and scratched her head.........you just bought a new car and YOU have to shift the gears? for that kind of money? ($9500)

pete240z wrote: I don't get hassled or anything bad, just a wierd look or expression; wow, you actually change the oil on your lawnmower instead of dropping it off at the shop? can you really sharpen your own blade?

Oh, OK. In that case, I guess I am "That Guy".

"...Volkswagens, eh? Don't they have the motor in the back?.." -anon. neighbor down the street

I live around farmers, nobody is that guy, everybody can weld or wrench

I have no neighbours. I am both that guy and the other guy.

One next door neighbor does landscaping work, so of course, their lawn is nicer than mine, the other maintains his own cars, and built his own monstrous backyard shed. Across the street is the family that runs a business that repairs diesel locomotives, and they are restoring a railroad car in their spare time. The neighbor next to them is a professional structural welder. Despite my DIY cred, I seem pretty weak in comparison...

I am definitely that guy but thankfully my neighbors are more fascinated than annoyed. Thankfully they are also pretty respectful of my time and effort. Neighbor came by the other day to tell me about a problem with his daughters new car, dodge neon, ran out of gas, now wont start. Easy diagnosis, it lunched the pump. As much as I am time pressed on my own projects I offered to take a look and see if we could knock it out but he thankfully declined.....and bought her another car...Oi.

They had just bought it so I think they just turned it in under warrantee from the used dealer and go another. But really.

i am the guy who had three sets of sawhorses, a tire pile, and my old truck bed covered in oak trim that i was staining today for a customer.

also the same guy that has 2 parts cars, 2 work trucks, and 3 good cars in the driveway(plus two in the garage) along with 2 trailers and an abortion of a plow truck sitting behind the garage. plus one car and two trucks at my parents house and a car in my cousin's garage.

i think i'm probably "that guy" to the rich people that live behind us but i try and keep stuff nice and clean. hopefully building in the fall a new 3 car garage to park the corvette, chevelle, and belair in.

I swear my neighbors have a betting pool on how long each new project will last... (The Concord was 13 days BTW)

I am totally "that guy". I use a push mower (it's not self-propelled?!?!???!), change the oil (we have a Wal-Mart that'll do that for like $40!), wash and detail the cars (the drive-thru wash is like $10 man...), etc, etc. Yet our cars run better, last longer, and look better. One of my neighbors is hilarious, he is in love with the P71 and thinks that there is no way he could afford a "performance car like that", yet he has a $400/month payment on a Trailblazer and a $300/month payment on a Ranger. God forbid if he ever finds out I only paid $2350 for my whole car...

poopshovel wrote: "That guy" who had to test the dixie horns 50 times, you know, to make sure they were working properly.

this made me really laugh because I had a set of the Hella Dual air horns on my first car. I loved the way those sounded. And they are loud.

The Dixie horn can only be installed on some older Chevrolet Impala 1964-1970 only.

I'm that guy to the extent of living in a neighborhood that would be significantly above my means if I did not have the homeboy hookup.

Most of my neighbors like me and find me entertaining. I offer to help them with menial chores like taking a dresser to Goodwill or cutting up some branches that came down over winter. Seeing as how I have both a full size truck and a chainsaw, and they have neither.

Now my other neighbor right across the street is a total dickbag. I started my truck (diesel) and moved it across the street to my other neighbors driveway to help them move a dresser. I left it on high idle (1200 RPM), and it has a 4" MBRP exhaust. Other neighbor came and complained that it was too loud, and I should shut it off. Its loud, but I hate shutting off a cold diesel. So when I dropped my cool neighbor off after dropping off his dresser, I rolled PLENTY of coal and left some rubber deposits out in front of my shiny happy person neighbors house. Meanwhile my other neighbor was yelling "Light 'em up!"

Ha my neighbors just wonder what the hell I am going to do with all those furrin cars they never heard of.

But they do like the S10 challenger