Bad as in bad? Or bad as in good?
Depends on how many a’s are in it.
“A bad cylinder” = a bad cylinder.
“A baaaaaaaad cylinder” = a cylinder good on the scale of Michael Jackson or Richard Pryor. 
Young’uns today wouldn’t even consider changing a flat tire, let alone care what a cylinder is. Unless they’re part of the tuner/drifter set-
Then I predict a marvelous future for you in Senior IT Mgmt, IT Project Mgmt or conversely, Car Salesmen.
I know more than that, but a “bad cylinder” is a bit vague. No spark in that cylinder? No fuel? No compression? So the OP narrows it down to “no compression,” and that helps, but there could be several causes for that.
Still, anyone in the market for a car, and prepared to buy one in a private sale (presumably without a warrant), should at the very least know what a cylinder is, and what they’re letting themselves into when a cylinder has no compression.
It’s my understanding that even if I knew what the hell a car cylinder was, I wouldn’t be able to fix the damn thing without specialized tools and equipment. It’s not like in Ye Olde Dayes, when there were a lot of extra Es floating around, and someone could pop a car’s hood and tinker a bit with a screwdriver and pliers and wrench, and fix whatever’s wrong. Today, you gotta plug the car into a computer to find out what’s wrong. I don’t know much about cars, but I know that much.
I can put gas and air in. I used to be able to put oil in, but we haven’t had a car that really burns oil in 25 years or so, so I don’t know if cars have changed or not.
Why in the hell would I need to know what an engine cylinder is?
Give me one good reason that wouldn’t also apply to every other thing I own.
Because fixing them is expensive, and you’ll want to be able to figure the possibility of an expensive repair into the price you’re willing to pay for a used car.
Actually, I think it does apply to every thing that you own.
But, maybe I’m unusual in my desire to possess “abstract knowledge.”
Bit, cheekpieces, noseband (usually either flash or ordinary), browband, throatlatch, crownpiece, reins. All of which have “keepers” to hold the loose ends.
What were we talking about? Oh, yeah, cars.
Cylinder? Not totally sure what it does. I know what the pistons do, roughly, and I suppose I could eventually figure out that it’s the pistons inside cylinders which create compression. But if someone told me that a car had a “bad cylinder” I wouldn’t know what it means in practical terms, the way I know what a bad transmission or a bad alternator or bad brakes mean.
What I do know is I won’t buy a car that won’t pass emissions due to the engine itself, because that way lies only pain. Even if the seller’s being honest, it might not be the only problem with the emission system. And professional inspections are worth the money.
I like knowing some abstract knowledge. But I no longer aspire to know everything in the world. Cars and their inner workings generally bore me.
I’m only one person, and I only have 24 hours in a day. I now limit my pursuit of knowledge to things that either interest me or which have a practical use. I know that if something is wrong with a car, and it’s a noun that starts with a C, then fixing it is likely to be expensive. My daughter made up this rule some years ago, and so far, it’s held true. 
As I stated earlier, I have neither the tools nor expertise (OK, what am I referring to?) to deal with a broken cylinder, and if I heard that a car that I liked had a problem cylinder, then I’d probably either get it checked out by a trusted mechanic, or I’d start looking at another car. Cars are mostly interchangeable, and a car that’s old enough to be hard to find is also going to be a damned pain to maintain. I can find another car that i like just as well that doesn’t have a problem cylinder.
I can tell you this much. If you ever own a home, you damn well better know how everything works and it’s probably going to be a good idea to know how to fix a lot of it yourself too.
There are some unbelievable charlatans out there in the residential contracting business. Yes, before anyone starts looking for rope to lynch me, the vast majority are honest, straight shooters. But ignorant home owners are the bane of the good ones as well as being the fat, succulent warthogs for the bad ones.
Same for me.
Heck-my SIL doesn’t even know how to check the oil! This is getting serious, because almost no gas stations do this now.
They don’t show movies in shop class any more?!? :eek:
Or isn’t shop class mandatory any more? :dubious:
I learned the basics of ICE operation when I was in 7th or 8th grade, even though I had zero interest in automobiles. I know that if a cylinder is bad, there either isn’t a complete seal (resulting in poor compression and a loss of power) or there’s something wrong with the ignition system/spark plug (its timing is off or it isn’t firing at all).
Yes, the piston slides up and down in the cylinder. They’re precision machined to fit together snugly. In a four-stroke engine, the cycle is intake, compression, power, exhaust.
Auto dealers should offer a basic automobile care course before selling a vehicle to the average citizen, or at least provide them an illustrated* handbook with every vehicle.
*LOTS of pictures, since the average citizen is now apt to be functionally illiterate.
Seems it coincides with the advent of the internet. When I was a teen growing up, in a rural area, we spent our time tinkering with engines, going fishing, riding our bikes, building stuff out of wood, etc.
My impression of the current generation is that it’s mostly computers, video games, and hanging out at the mall. No engine tinkering, for the most part.
My son’s High School of about 1600 students doesn’t even have shop class.
Buying a old car and fixing it up was a rite of passage for a lot of teens in the 50’s and 60’s.
I grew up in the mid 70’s and early 80’s. By then insurance costs were a big deal. My first car was older but ran ok and had good brakes. I fixed it up with pin stripes and rims. A really nice cassette player and speakers.
I do minor repairs on a car. Anything major goes to a mechanic. I know how an engine works but cars today are just to complicated for shade tree mechanics.
Total bunk. People have different needs in our society. I have only the vaguest idea how a computer works on the inside. I’ve been using them just fine for years without issue. If they stop working, I call someone who has chose repairing them as vocation to fix it. Same with cars. When my mechanic needed his kitchen remodeled, he called me.