Finally . . . !
Another guy that used the term “hoopty” . . . !
See, I’m not the only one using that term 
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What’s it origin? I’ve never heard that term. I don’t think I have anyway. Does it mean the same as “jalopy”? An older car where the normal body maintenance has been deferred and parts are held on with duct tape and bailing wire?
From what I heard, hoopty doesn’t specifically refer to a car with a bad body
I think it just means a car in really bad shape, that isn’t worth squat
Could even be a fairly straight older vehicle, low compression, barely starts, leaks front to back, transmission on its last legs, bald tires, most of the lights don’t work, check engine light’s been on for years, brakes shot, etc. Half the cars in my neighborhood, in other words 
Sounds like a money-making opportunity to do some repair work there db! An auto mechanic is like a dentist, no need to advertise, eventually the customers will come to you once the pain is bad enough or the car won’t start … lol …
No, thanks!
I’ve limited my side jobs to very select individuals
direct family
close relatives
occasionally something very easy like brake pads or a radiator for immediate neighbors
I turn down a lot of work, because I’ve had some ugly situations
the worst situations were invariably where one person referred somebody else
I’ve turned down a lot of work too. Not for your reason. It’s because I’m lazy!! lol …
I don’t blame you for turning down some work, especially work on “hoopties”. It doesn’t matter what business you are in. I work on computers and would much rather work on a $2500 MacBook Pro than a $300 disposable from Wal-Mart. It isn’t the computer that is the main deciding factor. It is the owner. If a nice Corvette pulled into your garage bay you would probably feel better about the job than if Uncle Buck’s car pulled in, the engine was shut off, and there was a deafening BANG from the back.
People ask me, “What is the hardest thing to fix?” I tell them “Stupid!” You cannot fix stupid. I can fix anything if you are willing to spend the money but you can’t fix the owner. I certainly wouldn’t focus on repairing hoopties if I owned a mechanic shop. Some of the people I have dealt with are unbelievable. I focus my advertising on the upper end demographic now. I want people who own their own business or are employed. I want the people who subscribe to Consumer Reports and have a Costco membership, not the people on welfare or a “fixed income” as they refer to it.
It is rare for me to get a Wal-Mart computer in that isn’t just disgusting and caked in cigarette smoke, spilled soda, and just filth. I sometimes get one in that is just in mint condition. It is all shiny with no scratches or dirt. For an expensive Apple, they are always pristine even if like 10 year old. It is kinda funny. Would you really want to focus on working on cars that were run with some problem until they would no longer run? That is what I see with the low-end market. I was at a shop once and some old crappy car got towed in. They had a hard time getting it to shift out of park for some reason. Then they couldn’t easily push it because the brake calipers were stuck. It was towed in for a no-start condition or something and the mechanics have found a transmission issue and bad brakes before it even gets into the garage. With computers I stop looking for more issues once the cost of all the repairs exceeds the value of the product or a better replacement option. With these cars the first problems you find are only scratching the surface.
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300 1969 Dodge Chargers were destroyed filming the Dukes of Hazzard (Pukes of Buzzard) TV show. Although my favorite Charger is the 1968 it was still a terrible waste. 30 more were destroyed making the movie.
I recall it from the 90s, from a GF of mine at the time who was a teacher in the city. Her students used it; I think it was the “jive” equivalent of “jalopy.”
Hoopty is definitely an inner city/ghetto type of slang but applies to these cars no matter where they are seen.
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