Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic: How Fixing Broken BMWs Helped Make Me Whole Paperback – Illustrated, June 3, 2013

I can't begin to say enough good things about this book. Wish there was room for another star.Despite all the great reviews about how this book is about family, this book really is about cars. Oh yes, there are several times in the book when his family plays a part in his stories, but there is always a car involved. Where this book goes in a different direction from most car books is that this is *mostly* a collection of car anecdotes, similar in style (IMO) to Peter Egan but (again, IMO) funnier.Most of the anecdotes are about car repair and Siegel works to help the reader connect with cars. For example, have you ever driven around for a summer (or two, or three) because your air conditioner is not working (I have) and you were afraid to have it repaired because of how much it might cost (I have). The chapter on Air Conditioning is worth the price of the book. He builds the reader's confidence to take on the job himself by breaking the diagnosis and repair into small and logical steps.Perhaps my favorite chapters are, "Why I Don't Fix Cars for Other People" (Parts I, II, III and IV). Says Siegel, "I love to work on cars. I have the knowledge. I have the tools. I have Zen-like experiences...You might think it would be natural for me to do it...at least as a favor to friends. But you would be wrong."This book should be mandatory reading in high school, or at least about half the chapters. From what I can tell the current generation of 16-year-olds - on average - has far, far less car knowledge than a 16-year-old of a generation ago. Forced to read this in high school (isn't forcing you to do stuff that you otherwise wouldn't do really what school is about?) the reader/student would realize that there is more to auto maintenance than scheduling an appointment at the dealership every time a warning light pops up on the dash of the SUV. Among other things the reader of this book would learn how to buy a car, how to sell a car, what the different noises mean and how to keep your car running for a long time with very little money. But what they will also get out of the book would likely surprise them - it is an interesting and fun read.

This book is so good on so many levels that it is challenging to specify exactly why and how it resonates with any guy who has ever voluntarily, willfully, and gleefully put a wrench on a car. If you see cars as merely a means to get from point A to point B, then you will NOT "get" this book, so don't get this book. If you see cars as works of art (no matter how old, beat-up and troublesome they may be), if you feel cars in your gut when you see one that has "imprinted" you, as Rob would say, if you get lost in time and forget to eat, sleep, or take out the trash when you are wrenching away, THEN this book is for you! And, as Rob likes to point-out, and as you will no doubt share with your spouse or significant other, Rob makes the rest of us Car Guys look almost frugal, sane, and normal!If you are a Car Guy, with a partner you would like to make a little more like Rob's Maire Anne (and once you read the book, I promise you that you will) then you will take to reading humorous parts of the book to them along with references to her obvious sainthood. The sequel to this book ought to be a "How To" book by Maire Anne, Rob's wife, on successfully loving, living and coping with a Car Guy. I think the advance sales for it would outstrip the ones for this book by a factor of 10 (no offense, Rob, but this is all your fault!) because most Car Guys would read aloud from it daily, and post quotes on the refrigerator. I am not kidding here.The "actual useful stuff" is actually very useful. Siegel's Seven Car Rule ought to be a Federal statute, if not a Law of Nature. His "rhythm of repair" and cars as connectors of humans will finally put in words what we Car Guys have been feeling all our lives. It is nice just to know that there are so many of us out there!Oh yeah, one more thing. Heed Rob's advice about his collector car insurance company. I did, and more than cut my premium in half on a well-kept, but not at all vintage '97 BMW 328iC (more than enough to justify a new car cover for my "baby" - Car Guys will instantly recognize the wisdom of this rationalization!). Thanks, Rob, for the advice and the couch time. It was worth every penny and every minute!

I love both the subject matter and Rob’s writing style. Highly recommend this book.

Seriously, I laughed, I cried. The chapter when the author described surprising each of his kids with their first time behind the wheel really got to me, and of course the various methods of extracting a stubborn bolt in an exhaust system or any other system had me rolling. I guess I am a car guy after all. Who else would hold onto all the little extracted pieces of #$%t as small trophies of victory after days of soaking exhaust bolts, heating, pounding and sawing on an old 911 exhaust system.I really enjoyed the references to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" regarding "stuckness" and I finished reading this book while on a trip to Park City Utah, truly a beautiful place. Now this is a place for a car guy! DRY, no salt, a great place to collect cars into the double digits. Now I need to have my wife and daughters read it, as I think it will help them understand me just a little bit better. There were also a number of references to John Muir's book "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot" which my Dad gave to me when I bought my first car at 18, a 1966 VW Beetle. I was thus imprinted by air/oil cooled German cars for life. I think Rob Siegel's book is by far the best automotive oriented read since the now classic Compleat Idiot book. OUTSTANDING!If you are a "car guy" or you are connected to a car guy through marriage, birth or adoption I strongly suggest that you read this book. All things will become so much clear as a result. Enjoy the read and the journey into the mind of an obsessed and very talented car guy and hack mechanic! Thanks for the memories.