how do i get into cars?

the reason why most car people are unwilling to discuss more technical car-related stuff with non-car people is because they either dont know enough or think you'll get extremely bored

for example try asking some car person what a synchromesh does in a manual transmission and i guarantee you that they'll get quite nervous either because they only have a vague idea or because they dont know how to explain it in less than 40 minutes

if you wanna get into the more technical aspect of cars i suggest you take it slowly, it fried my brain at one point and it can fry yours too

i suggest you watch rescue and restoration videos on youtube since there are a few channels out there (vice grip garage and junkyard digs for example) that do it in a pretty fun way while displaying a ton of valuable information

one thing i wouldnt recommend you do is getting into modifying too early on, get into it once you feel like you've expanded your knowledge on maintenance enough to be comfortable doing most things on your own because otherwise you'll end up with either a doomed project that you'll be forced to sell on facebook for 1/3 the price you paid originally (dont buy other people's projects) or possibly taken advantage of by a shop (thats not to say that you should never visit a shop, just try to go there as little as you can)

when you feel like you want to get more hands-on experience buy a
cheap shitmobile and try to fix it up. possibly even modify it later on if you can afford to. make sure to have some friends around and watch the funny memories make
themselves

its nice seeing people get into this stuff even though they weren't raised in that kinda environment. i can tell you wth confidence that the next few years of your life will be very memorable and fun. good luck!

sorry for the long reply thats just how i am when im talking about this subject lol

Hi, Stormy!

Believe it or not: YouTube. I went from knowing nothing more than tires & wiper blades to now I do ALL my own auto maintenance and upgrades myself. Stuff like "basic internal combustion engine anatomy" or even "how does a car engine work", at first I couldn't make sense of any of it but I kept watching and listening until the words became familiar enough for me to click into place & understand. 

If you can afford one, you can buy functional scale replica models of car engines that you build yourself & add colored liquid to in order to learn how the whole thing works, they're usually clear/transparent. Hobby shops or Amazon sell them for between $45-100+

Really, what helped me tie what I was learning together was Adventure Time! There's an episode where Banana Man explains to Finn & Jake how an engine works in very simple terms, to this day it's my go-to for people starting from 0 with car engines.It confused me at first when I sae the episodebefore I had my current car, but again I kept on it until I heard enough terms enough times to start figuring out what they meant when I saw it again.

After that, I got something called a Micro Mechanic for $10 that I stuck onto my car so that any time I get a Check Engine light, I use that device to get the error code & Google what it means, then YouTube how to fix it. I learned the names of the parts that way, one at a time, by putting my hands on it and using Google/YouTube. 

Another option to look into, if you have a library card see if your local branch has any automotive magazines, manuals or books you can check out either from the branch itself or from Hoopla. 

As for meeting other car people, online isn't really the easiest place to make friends anymore, BUT I used to use Instagram (when I still used it) and Twitter to find local car meets which is a GREAT way to make friends into cars. 

Learning how to work on my own car taught me sooo much and has saved me THOUSANDS of dollars in both repairs and upgrades. Next I'm adding a wired in cabcam/dashcam combo with motion detection and night vision, and a train horn. After that, I'm replacing the bumpers, fenders, and redoing the dials + changing the light panel colors. 3 years ago, I had *no idea* how to do anything other than air up my tires and change the wiper blades. 

I've had my car for almost 7 years now & I've had a couple of times where other drivers have hit me & caused cosmetic damage, like taken off a mirror, dented the bumper and caved in a fender, but I learned how to fix all that myself. I've also replaced both headlights, the interior dome lights,  the sunroof open/close rocker switch (it shorted out), had to replace the tubing for the wiper fluid bc of dryrotting (my car's a 2010, I'm the 3rd owner), several fuses (which helped me learn abt the electrical system), and I now handle all the fluids like oil changes plus coolant and transmission myself. 

It's seriously become my favorite and most useful hobby & I encourage everyone to get into cars too. Most of us rely on them for work, anyway! Why not enjoy it & avoid paying a Mechanic while learning a marketable skill?? Plus you can always independently take the certification and work as a Mechanic/Mobile Mechanic for yourself for extra $$$. 

Also posting questions here in the Auto forum encourages more people to do so and you might even find someone here who can help you learn!

Good luck! 

Read old repair manuals

believe it or not im a guy and im in your shoes. grew up with a shitty dad tht also knew nothing abt cars(despite my grandfather being an ex mechanic) and i never learned nothin like that from him (much less anything in general, eye roll) like other guys did. so i have had to ask the same questions and wonder the same as you. ive been doing stuff like watching anything car-related on yt and reading up on what i dont know. i bought an old ford collection book from 1976 from goodwill the other day and it has information on all of fords classics from '46-'76 as long as maintenance and visuals of engines and parts too. cool stuff, and ive learned from it too. things like that help. ultimately though i dont know much in general and as a guy its even more embarrassing when all yer other guy friends know things.. oh well!!!!!

you use the keys to open the door. and then, you're all set.

Watch youtube videos, you can really learn a lot from for example, donut, prizzamike and more.