The fact that the whole thing could be worked on in a driveway with basic tools is what I miss.
My dad did most work on his cars in the driveway. I did most of the work on my cars in the same driveway.
My wife (then gf) 2005 Nissan Altima changed that. The very moment I had to remove an air intake TO REPLACE A HEADLIGHT BULB, I gave up on ever doing work on my own car again.
Unless I somehow end up with a ton of disposable income to convert an older car to all electric. By “older” I mean like a Chrysler Town & Country barrel back wagon, a 50s Buick Skylark, 56 Continental, etc. And by those cars I mean a lightweight shell in that style.
Man I feel you - those dumb engineering decisions that have been around for so long. I had to open a fuel tank to replace a fuel pump once which I’m sure some engineer was like ‘well it’s all fuel stuff so what’s the problem’ and that makes sense until the pump goes out and someone has to go in and replace it. I did replace it in my driveway but that was a real BS job and I did also decide then and there I wasn’t going to do my own work anymore, which I’m sure the dealerships are/were quite happy about.
Yeah to be fair when I was in my late teens I also had access to a full shop. Neighbors owned it, so if it was my mom, they’d take care of her. If it was me I was told to stop bothering them because I knew where the tools were and how to note it for inventory.
So now I’ve got a local shop I trust, I don’t have to deal with it, and they do the kind of clean work I would do myself. Works out for the best.
The fact that the whole thing could be worked on in a driveway with basic tools is what I miss.
This is still the case for most parts of car maintenance and repairs. The dealerships, manufacturers, and car mechanics have done a great job in tricking people into thinking cars are these impossible pieces of technology that require certified experts to repair, and then charge $200 an hour to do so. The reality is that all of the mechanical parts of the cars are still perfectly user-servicable. Changing your brakes today is the same as it was 20 years ago. Changing your oil is the same too. Changing spark plugs or a starter is also the same, you just have to remove the cover that they put over the top of the engine to make it look like some futuristic piece of technology. They’re still internal combustion engines, and they still work the same way they did 30 years ago.
It’s all about stuffing more stuff in these days. Adding oil for example is easy, sure - but getting to the filter without a lift can be a nightmare of annoying little tasks.
And I’m mostly referring to actual work, not basic maintenance stuff, the headlight was just an example of a ridiculous design approach that is all too common. It’s annoying enough that I have no patience for it anymore on modern cars. The mechanics of the actual work haven’t changed, the effort required for those tasks has though.
My wife has driven Hondas the whole time I’ve known her, and those have always been a bitch to work on. It’s like they intentionally put things in the absolute worst spot. So, I guess I’m just used to it. My new Chevy is still easier to work on than her 2000 Honda was. But I get what you’re saying. You could climb into the engine compartment and still have room to spare on the cars in the 60’s and 70’s.
The fact that the whole thing could be worked on in a driveway with basic tools is what I miss.
My dad did most work on his cars in the driveway. I did most of the work on my cars in the same driveway.
My wife (then gf) 2005 Nissan Altima changed that. The very moment I had to remove an air intake TO REPLACE A HEADLIGHT BULB, I gave up on ever doing work on my own car again.
Unless I somehow end up with a ton of disposable income to convert an older car to all electric. By “older” I mean like a Chrysler Town & Country barrel back wagon, a 50s Buick Skylark, 56 Continental, etc. And by those cars I mean a lightweight shell in that style.
Man I feel you - those dumb engineering decisions that have been around for so long. I had to open a fuel tank to replace a fuel pump once which I’m sure some engineer was like ‘well it’s all fuel stuff so what’s the problem’ and that makes sense until the pump goes out and someone has to go in and replace it. I did replace it in my driveway but that was a real BS job and I did also decide then and there I wasn’t going to do my own work anymore, which I’m sure the dealerships are/were quite happy about.
Yeah to be fair when I was in my late teens I also had access to a full shop. Neighbors owned it, so if it was my mom, they’d take care of her. If it was me I was told to stop bothering them because I knew where the tools were and how to note it for inventory.
So now I’ve got a local shop I trust, I don’t have to deal with it, and they do the kind of clean work I would do myself. Works out for the best.
This is still the case for most parts of car maintenance and repairs. The dealerships, manufacturers, and car mechanics have done a great job in tricking people into thinking cars are these impossible pieces of technology that require certified experts to repair, and then charge $200 an hour to do so. The reality is that all of the mechanical parts of the cars are still perfectly user-servicable. Changing your brakes today is the same as it was 20 years ago. Changing your oil is the same too. Changing spark plugs or a starter is also the same, you just have to remove the cover that they put over the top of the engine to make it look like some futuristic piece of technology. They’re still internal combustion engines, and they still work the same way they did 30 years ago.
That’s not really the issue.
It’s all about stuffing more stuff in these days. Adding oil for example is easy, sure - but getting to the filter without a lift can be a nightmare of annoying little tasks.
And I’m mostly referring to actual work, not basic maintenance stuff, the headlight was just an example of a ridiculous design approach that is all too common. It’s annoying enough that I have no patience for it anymore on modern cars. The mechanics of the actual work haven’t changed, the effort required for those tasks has though.
My wife has driven Hondas the whole time I’ve known her, and those have always been a bitch to work on. It’s like they intentionally put things in the absolute worst spot. So, I guess I’m just used to it. My new Chevy is still easier to work on than her 2000 Honda was. But I get what you’re saying. You could climb into the engine compartment and still have room to spare on the cars in the 60’s and 70’s.