[V6-12v] Oil change (concluded)

[James4ihl at aol.com]

In my experience as a former student, the only money you'll easily extract 
from parents is anything to do with safety. The best technique is to approach 
your mother if you're a boy, your father if you're a girl. Next, explain in 
detail what the problem is, and why the piece of equipment is so essential. At 
this point, their eyes will be partially glazed over by the technical jargon they 
didn't quite understand, and they'll be thinking they'd like to help, but 
that tools that complex are probably pretty expensive. It's at this point you 
play your trump card, along the lines of... 'well, I could probably do it with 
the ordinary jack stand... but you only need a slight nudge, and... well, let's 
just say my protruding stomach wouldn't be a problem any longer, not to 
mention my head... ha ha ha!'

If they don't reach for the chequebook, it's because they're reaching for the 
telephone directory because they're gonna pay for a shop to do it, as they 
don't ever want you near anything that dangerous, ever!

Well, hell, it's worth a try, it sometimes works :)