[steveK2016]

WTF!?

It's not that hard to jump start a car. But there's always the possibility that your car battery dies and there's no one around to help you out. Hacker News user lockhart had a great brainwave: just call a taxi service like Uber.

"Next time your car battery dies, instead of calling friends or a tow truck, call an Uber and have them run the meter while they give you a jump. It will cost you around $8 instead of the $50-$75 a tow truck will cost (caveat: you most likely will need your own jumper cables). Plus, Uber will probably get to you faster than any tow truck or friend, depending on where you are."

Yea, if I were tricked into this, I'd tell the pax exactly where they could clamp their jumper cable to, especially if they were male....if you get my drift.

I've done this. My car battery died and tow truck was 3 hours wait. I had to get to work so I called an uber, called driver immediately and asked if it was alrighr. First driger didnt like it, so I cancel immediately and tried another. Second guy was cool with it. He was 3 min away, the jump took 2 minutes and i asked him if he wanted to start the trip and end it down the road, min fare plus i had $5 in cash and 5 stars or cancel fee with $5. He was a 4.67 so he opted to also get the 5 stars.

Easiest $9 he made in 5 minutes on X.

Don't be cheap! Get a roadside assistance!

Its not about being cheap. I had free roadside, so that would have been cheaper. It just the tow truck woulsnt get to me for 3 hours and i had to be at work in 30 min.

Towing, gas, battery charge and flat tire spare install only cost me $8.00 a year on my (Allstate) ins.
Wouldn't drive without it on my auto policy.

Can they get to your car in under 5 minutes?

 

[CarpeNoctem]

My God some of you are at the very center of this country. waaahh i'm not giving a jump start my car is too fragile, waahhh your car can catch fire doing jump starts. waahhh my car is a hybrid i'm not doing that. jfc it's a jump start one of the most rudimentary roadside assistance functions there is, y'all act like it's brain surgery. i'll bet the majority of you can't even change a tire, or a set of spark plugs and from the sounds of it some of you might even struggle at the gas station. i would and will jump anybody who asks, for free. why? because i'm a gentleman and i have morals and i know how it feels to have a dead vehicle and be surrounded by prima donnas who are frightened of their own shadow. get over yourselves. get in your stupid prius and go have a chai tea, let the real men and women handle the work.

Back in the day (geez when does that ever sound good) I would give jumps and, being a broke kid, usually need jumps. That was when electronic ignition was rare and there were no PCU's, drive by wire, electronic dash clusters and GPS systems. So I know how to do them. I could also do most car repairs back in those days.

I would still give jumps until the 90's. I gave a jump one night and instantly started having electrical problems in a relatively new C1500. Every test would show as fine but it wouldn't charge the battery. After ~6 months and about $1k in parts tossed at it at various shops, it turned out to be a fuse link that had gotten burned almost through. Since the burned spot was against the firewall it was also not visible.

If there is a car that needs a jump, there is something wrong. Perhaps it is just a bad battery or perhaps it is much more serious. Considering the electronics in my SUV are upwards of $2k for the parts now ($800 just for a replacement headlight), there is no way I'm going to take a chance for $13 or some other ridiculous amount.

Say what you will and I commend you for continuing to do it. If it were feasible and someone needed a jump, I would direct them to you.

 

[SuzeCB]

My God some of you are at the very center of this country. waaahh i'm not giving a jump start my car is too fragile, waahhh your car can catch fire doing jump starts. waahhh my car is a hybrid i'm not doing that. jfc it's a jump start one of the most rudimentary roadside assistance functions there is, y'all act like it's brain surgery. i'll bet the majority of you can't even change a tire, or a set of spark plugs and from the sounds of it some of you might even struggle at the gas station. i would and will jump anybody who asks, for free. why? because i'm a gentleman and i have morals and i know how it feels to have a dead vehicle and be surrounded by prima donnas who are frightened of their own shadow. get over yourselves. get in your stupid prius and go have a chai tea, let the real men and women handle the work.

Hybrids actually CAN be damaged by giving jumps, even if everything is perfect.

NEVER jump someone off your hybrid!

And if you're not in a hybrid and want to give the jump, or have a separate device to do it, NEVER do it for less than $25 CASH on top of the cancel fee for having the pax cancel the ride.

 

[Juggalo9er]

Jumping off cars are dicey. One wrong placement of the jumper cable and it is goodbye electronics. So if not comfy doing this, don't. Some vehicles may not have enough UMP to do the job.

So if in doubt don't bother with the risks. We are not AAA.

You'll likely only blow the main fuse

Dwarfism hater!

Fast food hater!

Overweight hater!

(still thinking on that one...)

Christmas hater

 

[forrest m]

I one had an Uber come to take me to work due to dead battery. When he arrived, it occurred to me to ask him if he could give me a jump instead for $20. Hmm, a piddly 2 mile ride or $20 plus a cancel ride fee? Not a hard decision to make for the driver, he seemed really happy.

 

[Ballermaris]

You'll likely only blow the main fuse

If you do blow a fuse, you will end up with a disabled vehicle. Most don't carry spares for something like that. I look at it from the perspective of liability, if damage is caused during the jump who has to foot the bill?

 

[NOXDriver]

If you do blow a fuse, you will end up with a disabled vehicle. Most don't carry spares for something like that. I look at it from the perspective of liability, if damage is caused during the jump who has to foot the bill?

If you blow a fuse you can swap out one that isn't really needed with the blown one. Most cars have a spare fuse in the fuse box as well as fuse pullers.

This forum is NOT the place to find 'car people'. So many uninformed individuals.

 

[Ballermaris]

If you blow a fuse you can swap out one that isn't really needed with the blown one. Most cars have a spare fuse in the fuse box as well as fuse pullers.

This forum is NOT the place to find 'car people'. So many uninformed individuals.

A main fuse I am thinking about is under the hood of the vehicle, in a power distribution box which has no spares or fuse pullers. While I am capable of doing jumps, my preference is to avoid those.

 

[Terri Lee]

Christmas haters!
Keep Christ in Christmas.
Or is it keep keep Christ out of the winter solstice pagen Holliday

Solstice Is The Reason For The Season

 

[I_Like_Spam]

Yea, if I were tricked into this, I'd tell the pax exactly where they could clamp their jumper cable to, especially if they were male....if you get my drift.

This has already been done, Mr. Kane- the one administering the charge in this video- is the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.

 

[Lee239]

People call Uber for a cheap ambulance ride too, they think the drivers are there to be suckers because that's how Uber set it up for pax to think they are the drivers boss.

Have you ever seen jumper cables catch on fire? I have. No way I am offering a jump from my Suburban to some random hee-haw with unknown electrical problems.

That picture looks fake like it was set up afterwards. I find it hard to believe on car would be destroyed and the other be fine.

 

[Terri Lee]

I find it hard to believe on car would be destroyed and the other be fine.

Orange does not look fine to me.

 

[BigBadBob]

WTF!?

It's not that hard to jump start a car. But there's always the possibility that your car battery dies and there's no one around to help you out. Hacker News user lockhart had a great brainwave: just call a taxi service like Uber.

"Next time your car battery dies, instead of calling friends or a tow truck, call an Uber and have them run the meter while they give you a jump. It will cost you around $8 instead of the $50-$75 a tow truck will cost (caveat: you most likely will need your own jumper cables). Plus, Uber will probably get to you faster than any tow truck or friend, depending on where you are."

Yea, if I were tricked into this, I'd tell the pax exactly where they could clamp their jumper cable to, especially if they were male....if you get my drift.

I have an HHR. Battery is in the trunk, tucked away. Will not go through the aggravation even for a decent tip. Thats what AAA is for!

 

[Lee239]

Orange does not look fine to me.

So you think a car being jumped is gonna catch fire and someone is not going to disconnect it and drive away?

 

[SuzeCB]

Christmas haters!
Keep Christ in Christmas.
Or is it keep keep Christ out of the winter solstice pagen Holliday

Birth of the Sun God!

 

[Fozzie]

If you're in danger, you call a cop;
If you have leaky pipes, you call a plumber;
if your shit is on fire, you call the fire department;
If your car doesn't start and you need a jump, you call AAA, not an Uber driver.

WTF is wrong with these people?

 

[brick656]

Not with my car too easy to blow out electronics that's why they will tell you don't jump start with your car. Buy a jump box if you want to be doing this.

I've done this countless times and never "blew out any electronics".

 

[nosurgenodrive]

This is a good way to ruin your car's computers.

 

[wicked]

Just don't. The line must be drawn somewhere. There is nothing worse than being part of someone's budget for the day. It's no act of kindness, don't get it twisted. Plus the poor tow truck driver gets screwed.

Kind of like how Seymour takes every ping. When will they ever learn?

 

[Soldiering]

I've done this once in my 3 years of driving and I only did it cause she was elderly but I wouldn't do it otherwise. I drive a Prius so it's a birch as the batt is in a weird spot and only reason I did it was cause her car was smaller like mine. She tipped 10. Otherwise I would never do it. That's what AAA is for

This reminds of the guy who called me with an Uber Pool to haul his car shop shit in my trunk and 40 minutes away into VA. Didn't want to ride in the car or anything. Just wants to poop his shit over to another shop and talk to people I've never talked to in my life. Not happening.

Uber pool? Yea he's an ass. I've hauled stuff in my trunk and they have always tipped. Shocks, auto parts(clean) etc.