I always tell people that their footwear will have a greater impact on their life than the car they drive . . . and they laugh. Then they start to think about it. All that money that goes into purchasing, financing, repairing, and insuring a car can be used for so many better purposes (for a non-enthusiast). College. Vacations. Cheap wine. You name it. The list is endless and the knowledge to achieve those ends is definitely out there. But how can it “really” be done? How can the laymen amongst us overcome the stacked deck of MBAs and conspicuous consumption that is seemingly “the American way” when it comes to cars and so many other things?
Education. That’s a big part of it. Obviously not the type that involves the perpetual pushing of pencils, but the freedom that comes from actually doing things. Teenagers and adults, young and vicariously young, need the opportunity to learn by mastering the basics of maintaining a car. Learning to perform an oil change, a brake job, how to check a car’s fluids, and replacing tires and batteries really takes no more than a full day or two of healthy learning. Alone it would save the average person tens of thousands of dollars over their lifetime. It would also minimize the waste of neglected cars in general. It’s also a brilliant excuse for high school geeks all over the world to get out of phys. ed.
I would say that cynicism of the automotive media is the flip side to a good education when it comes to cars. For the last ten years, it seems like every car company is trying to make their cars into a Prozac capsule or a Viagra alternative. When I mention that to folks, they’ll laugh . . . and then reconsider. Perhaps it’s true that the flashy HUMMER can climb a very well positioned rock. But a 15-year-old Land Cruiser, Range Rover, Wrangler or Cherokee can easily do it for less than a fifth of the cost and will be a helluva lot more interesting to drive.
Finally, I would say that investing in quality makes a huge difference in minimizing all forms of cost, including ignorance. I have a friend who bought a 20-year-old Volvo 240 wagon from me for $1500 back in the good old days of 2007. She cares about cars as much as I care about TV shows on the Lifetime network. In lieu of that, I told her that if she simply followed the maintenance schedule I gave her, visited an enthusiast site whenever she had a question, and used parts from companies I highlighted, she would be fine. Two years later the 22-year-old Volvo still drives exceptionally well.
One thing to consider is how difficult it is to perform basic maintenance on a vehicle these days.
Changing the oil in a (formerly owned) VW was made all the more difficult by the lower shroud. I got so sick of it I cut a hole to make draining the oil possible without removal.
Simple items like changing a headlight bulb are impossible on some cars, either because things are in the way, or because replacement requires removal of the fender (G35, I’m told).
I still do as much as I can, but the manufacturers aren’t making it any easier. I will be considering ease of (self-) maintenance when I purchase my next car.
I’m a ten year car owner. They go when the subsystems make the car unreliable. (Trannys, engines, etc don’t die…it’s the crank angle sensors, etc that make your life hell when the car won’t start and the wife complains). These are usually relatively cheap parts, but tough to properly diagnose, esp. if they have intermittent problems.
My current car, a BMW is actually easy to repair, and clearly designed for field work, except for the electrical system, which is a “don’t touch if it’s working” thing.
All other parts, while not cheap, are fixable, which makes sense as this is sold as a “world standard” all over the world, and has to be fixable from South Africa to Nova Scotia in a thousand languages.
This is a huge difference from the D3 once it’s out of warranty it’s YOUR problem…and we will design it to just make it out….then you are supposed to buy a new one. Which explains the current situation for the D3.
A Ford Contour that I had once was this way. All One Use clips, and clearly not designed to be repaired. A shock absorber replacement had my excellent independent mechanic cursing a blue streak-the front shocks were set up to be easily assembled by a machine, but tough for humans, even those with a full shop and lots of “special tools”. Likewise, a SAAB 9-3 required you to drop the fuel tank to replace a fuel pump, which saved GM maybe a dollar a unit not to put an access panel in. Who cares, the second or third owner would have to replace the pump…it’s OUT OF WARRANTY. The $300 repair bill is instead closer to $900.
Who can forget cars that required pulling the engine to replace spark plugs ? GM has done this more than once. A clearer NSFW-U to the used car owner or long term owner could not be clearer.
I had two VW diesels, also anvils, and easy to fix (almost no moving parts !)
Maybe it’s me, but all the cars I have had, save the Ford and the GMized SAAB were easy to fix.
What is the goal ? To give the driver (the vast majority of which are Know-Nothings) a reliable, fixable car with a decent service life, or to make the cheap car as “flashy” as possible, making sure it makes the warranty period ? If you kept to the 50’s era 3 or 4 year replacement for “style”, you’d never see this.
We have seen both business models. We all can list which side each maker goes on. We have also seen the success rate of each business model.
Can’t we just C11 the D2.3 now and save the X billion ?
It astonishes me how many people refuse to even change their own motor oil. Such a simple job yet people will pay $30…$40…$50+ for the convenience of not getting their hands dirty. Imagine it’s the same with headlights and batteries. Even swapping out plug wires is a relatively easy job that any idiot could do. People are just lazy IMO.
A mechanic friend pays for all his oil changes. Why? He says after turning wrenches all day on other people’s cars he’s tired and will pay for someone else to do the same to his car. Well, at least he’s honest about being lazy. Most people think their car is as complex as the space shuttle when in reality the common maintenance items are usually quite elementary.
200K-min:
Oil changes are a pain. The S@#)* is hazardous waste, messy, dirty, and ugly.
It is easily, EASILY, worth the $30 not to have to do it. The thing is, people NEED to get it done.
If they get the maintinence done, its amazing how reliable a modern car can be.
Fifteen year old Land Cruisers are pretty expensive to buy, for a fifteen year old car.
My grandmother who lived through the flu epidemic, dust bowl, depression, and war gave me this sound advice – “Get an education because it is the only thing they can’t take away from you, and buy good shoes.”
200k-min I just don’t want to f*** things up by trying to save 30 dollars and after Jiffy Lube once didn’t tighten the drain plug enough and the all the oil leaked out of my then new 1990 Accord I actually use the dealer all the time. The Honda still ran fine after that incident.
I can’t comment on the do-it-yourself maintenance thing, my wife and I take our cars in every 3000 miles (I know, I know, you don’t need to take them in that often, oil lasts a billion miles now, bla bla bla) to get the oil changed and to have them looked over.
Good God Steven stop right now, you’re making it sound like people don’t actually need new $40,000 cars every 3-5 years! Our economy is more or less founded on the fact that yes, yes they do, and they need to park them in garages of continually growing homes full of new furniture and progressively larger televisions. Conspicuous consumption is the American Way, by mentioning that you don’t need to spend every dime you make showing off how much money you spent pretty much means you’re supporting the terrorists.
You’re absolutely right, of course. People spend loads of money, ridiculous amounts of money, on depreciating, relatively low-use liabilities that require significant maintenance and insurance. The car is generally vital to maintaining a job and keeping our economy running, so it isn’t all silliness, but the fact that people will buy any car that costs more than $30k or so completely defies logic, especially given that there are so many wonderful options below that point.
However, though I like to consider myself a logical and thoughtful consumer, one who saves plenty each month and makes prudent life and budget decisions, I am entirely enamored of the automobile and willing to spend outside my comfort zone to acquire the one that best suits my taste. At the present, I’m planning on violating 2 of my cardinal rules of car-buying – a)never buy new and b)NEVER buy 1st-year, 1st-generation cars, next year so I can buy a Ford Fiesta when they go on sale here in the states. I don’t know why, it goes against every one of my better instincts, but I know I will skip into the dealer with a smile and lay down my (guessing) $17,500 to get behind the wheel of a decently optioned subcompact. It’s madness, but I can’t help myself.
Cars are entirely romantic, and I’ve fallen for them entirely. They do not only represent conspicuous consumerism, but they are also a tangible embodiment of the American Dream – the freedom of the road, the hard work it takes to engineer and build them (no matter where the work takes place), the upward mobility, the adventures they can bring you to. The strength of a big SUV is appealing during militaristic times, sports cars light the fire in the eyes of the competitive, and practical, reliable cars inspire faith and love from their owners as something that can be counted on in uncertain times. You can’t “overcome the stacked deck of MBA’s and conspicuous consumption” because really, it’s a love story, they’re only retelling it. Love makes fools of us all…
I’m with Nicholas Weaver on this one.I repaired enough cars in my life.I’ll pay somebody now.I run my cars a long time,so I will figure out how to do headlights and other bulbs.I monitor tire pressure,and keep the car clean.If I can’t figure some thing out,I go online[TTAC PISTON SLAP’s Sajeev is a wealth of information]
@ Sherman Lin – that sort of story is exactly why I do my own changes, and pretty much everything else. Never had any problems with the jiffy lube type places myself, but my ex once had the dealer leave a wrench on top of the engine after doing an oil change. I figure I’ll take my time and can be a lot more careful. plus if I do mess up it’s my fault, which I’m OK with.
Oil changes are a pain. The S@#)* is hazardous waste, messy, dirty, and ugly.
To change the oil (and oil filter) is a ritual for the car aficionado.
Part of the emotional bonding you get with your car comes from getting dirty (and sometimes bloody in the knuckles) with your car from time to time. There´s also an immense satisfaction in solving little maintenance problems in your car.
OTOH the car ceases to be a “black box”. You start to understand and appreciate features in your car you would never know about its existence, unless you accept to get some dirt from time to time.
Moreover: You usually get a better basic maintenance job doing it yourself. In 1996 I decided to change myself the fluids of my car after I saw official Peugeot mechanics breaking three rules printed black on white on the Workshop Book for my Peugeot 205.
If you really refuse to get a little dirty maintaining your car, try at least to be present when the mechanic is doing the job: If you are courteus and the mechanic is a good chap, you will learn a lot of things (and I think that the job is going to be done better).
I recently bought a Cherokee Jeep from ’98.
The next thing I got was the Haynes manual for it, and I’m looking for the ’98 Jeep Service Manual (hard to get in non CD-form without paying silly prices. Will rummage through national dealer’s discards one day).
The joy of planning the upgrades on that Jeep have been filling my evenings. The suspension, brakes, engine, bumpers, etc. are going to change in minor or major ways, and I’m going to be doing most of the work myself. Joy. (Just changing the rear brakes to disc instead of the stock drums is having me salivate!)
I also got lucky. The Jeep I found was owned by a man who has a pristine Wagoneer, another pristine Wrangler Jeep which he’s built up from scrap to mint, and a Grand Cherokee. He’d maintained the Cherokee I bought in “as new” condition.
Can’t do that yourself with a modern car – there’s access for filling window washer fluid, the rest of the engine is blocked off. I’ve even seen concept cars with that washer fluid on the outside – and where the selling point was that “the owner wouldn’t ever have a reason to open the bonnet.”
Sure, no bother there, it’s convenient, but is it fun?
In my younger days all I drove were used vehicles, and I needed a good pair of shoes due to all of the walking I did.
So the last five purchases have all been new that I take very good care of them (a lot myself) and I even track what I do on an Excel spreadsheet. I have family members that ask me to let them know first when I decide to sell a car.
Last fall for the fun of it, I was shopping for a used Cherokee (I always wanted one… I should of bought a new one back in the day) and I generally found that owners had very little proof other then their word that any maintenance was ever done. I already have two Jeeps I tool on, and I decided I just didn’t want one that was probably not taken care of. People just don’t take care of their stuff these days…
The (horribly) wrong shoes will take 70 years to make a person seriously injured and disabled.
The wrong car, especially used, takes much less time.
$30 oil changes (even at dealers) make it completely illogical for a layman to change his own oil.
A much better lesson for a layman is to not buy the $200 of crap that the dealer, Jiffy Lube, PepBoys, etc. try to upsell him on during the $30 oil change.
“Prozac capsule or a Viagra alternative” is spot on.
Everything has power windows, power locks, A/C, a good stereo, ABS, traction control and six airbags.
The only thing automakers can charge extra for is expensive, unique engineering (i.e. RWD, convertible top), or, more often, playing dress-up in platform sharing Halloween costumes (Hummer, FJ Cruiser, New Beetle, retro musclecars, loaded duallys that don’t tow, etc.).
People who are not wealthy would be well served to start with an I4 Hyundai Sonata and then ask themselves why it does not make sense to buy that car and drive for 8 or 10 years.
The best car I ever had for maintainence was my first new car, a 1986 Chrysler Laser XE (twin of the Dodge Daytona). FWD coupe (G body) based off of K platform mechanicals. You open the hood (which was counter balanced – no prop rods to get in the way) and you could reach straight down between the radiator and the east-west engine and grab the oil filter sticking out the side of the engine block with your hand. The only difficult oil change was the first one. The factory worker had put the filter on so tight I thought I was gonna hurt something taking it off (if I could get it off). After that, piece of cake. I even changed it a couple of times by driving the passenger side wheels up on a curb. It gave me just enough clearence to get to the filter and and oil drain plug. The oil is messy, but I learned to be carefull with it, especially transporting it in my car to the recycler, and I discovered latex and vinyl gloves which I preferred to those hand cleaners they sell in the auto stores. The 2.5 liter (new that year to replace the troublesome 2.6 from Mitsubishi) had the 4 plugs up front and the exhaust manifold in the back. No burnt fingers! The distributor cap was up top on the passenger side of the motor. Very easy. Even the AC hardware was accessable. The only tough thing was the O2 sensor. You had to take off the aircleaner assembly to access it. Still not bad. This was a fuel injected, OBD I or II complient engine with electronic ignition. It wasn’t an old design at the time. Yet it was simple to work on. A direct descendant of the Slant Six.
I look under the hoods of todays cars and I just shake my head. My 2000 ZX2 (calculated fuel economy is 34+ mpg in combined driving) has the oil filter up against the firewall. You can reach it from the top, but you can’t take it out. It’s hard to reach under the car on your back. they designed it to be accessed on a lift. I finally got tired of messing with it and take it to an oil change place now.
You usually get a better basic maintenance job doing it yourself
For instance: I maintain (as a hobby and for affection) dad´s retired jalopy, a 1985 Renault 25. Months ago I faced the first spark plugs change of my life: Very small plugs imbedded deeply in a very tricky aluminium engine block. After a lot of thought and sweat, some broken tools (really) and some (literal) blood in the knuckles I got the enormous satisfaction of getting the job done.
The big surprise: The most difficult sparkplug to remove (the one whose access was partially blocked by the carburettor) was entirely corroded, in much, much worse condition than the other (easier to remove) 3 plugs. God knows when that plug was changed last time…maybe in 1985. Mechanics get paid to change 4 plugs, but the simply skipped the most difficult one.
If you are there with the mechanic these things are not going to happen.
You do not abandon relatives at the hospital waiting for a phone call to tell you that the job has been done. Your car in the mechanic is like a relative in the hospital. It should be with a “caring relative” until the job is done.
Saving money isn’t really a good reason to do your own oil change. If you buy cheap oil, say $3/quart, that’s $15 just for the oil. Then there’s the time, tools, and effort to recycle the used motor oil.
Self sufficiency, therapeutic bonding with your car, and satisfaction of knowing the job was done right, now those are good reasons. But not for the money.
It’s also a brilliant excuse for high school geeks all over the world to get out of phys ed.
As a phys ed. teacher and an enthusiast, I take offense!
I love reading the comments. It’s only ten minutes til eleven and it’s already made my day.
One of the reasons why I’m writing these articles is because I’m gradually becoming a non-enthusiast. A wife, two young wonderful kids, auctions, current events of the day, and just plain wanderings of the mind… cars are becoming less of a pleasure these days and more of an ‘asset’.
One of the reasons why our economy is going through such hardships is because we ‘divest’ in unproductive assets. Many of the lines of work that are available these days are out there because we simply encourage specialization and ‘hiring an expert’ (a.k.a. ignorance) rather than engineering our goods to be durable and well-maintained.
I’ll tell you guys a little secret. One of the reasons why the Camry’s of the 1990’s are such exceptional vehicles is because they tended to be so simple to perform basic maintenance. You can literally buy about $50 in tools and do virtually everything yourself in terms of routine maintenance. Parts can be more expensive. But the straightforward approach to engineering and maintenance made an amazing impact on ownership loyalty and long-term quality.
The same ‘easy to maintain’ longevity factor is true for most domestic pickups and RWD full-sized cars, 4-cylinder RWD Volvos of the 80’s and 90’s, W124’s, W116’s, and I would even say the Accord 4-cylinders tended to be fairly decent.
When we engineer a car to last at least 15 years with an ‘average’ owner, we’ve really done more favors to the consumer and the economy than any bailout or ‘deal of the day’ ever could.
The trick is to teach folks to focus on the steak and be cynical about the sizzle. It can be done. Really. But we would need to become far more stringent with our advertising laws and develop an educational system that encourages more ‘doing’ and kinesthetic learning. The human mind is still a sponge in the end. It just needs an opportunity to absorb the right elements.
Whenever I find a mechanic who tracks down a tricky issue with a car these days, I always think, “What if this guy had put his mind towards medical research, farming, or anything else other than a cheaply made car?”
That’s where the real loss takes place in our economy. If we encouraged independence and durability, our piece of the planet would be a far nicer place.
People who think that an oil change is just about changing the oil probably feel that it’s good work for someone else to do.
People that view an oil change as an opportunity to perform a quick inspection of parts not normally observed on a day-to-day basis think that it’s well worth the minor hassle.
I like looking at the underside of my car every three months. Do you think the kid at the local oil shop cares as much about the condition of the brake lines, floorpan sheetmetal, etc.?
A friend of mine, who I would say is fairly mechanically adept, was changing his own oil last week. He has a 2008 Sierra. For some reason he decided the jack was good enough and the truck slipped placing said jack firmly inside the oil pan!! Since we are both in the parts biz, he was able to get that repaired for $400.00!!!
Also on some late model cars with the electronic parking brake, you need a scan tool to change the pads. Heard a story about a guy that was doing rear pads on an MB and someone closed the door, click the ECU locked the rear calipers down with his fingers in the way…
Im all for doing your own work, but BE CAREFUL folks, things aren’t as simple as they used to be. Except for the use of jack stands (lol).
One of my points Eric Bryant. I always look at the condition of the suspension half axles etc. while changing my oil. I have also had personal experience with the screwed up oil change at one of those quick lube places. Those places are generally staffed by highschool graduates at best with one or two hours of training. Is it any wonder that they might drain the tranny fluid by mistake or fail to know that the V8 on the Cobra Mustang has two drain plugs for the oil pan? Heck with the large variety of engine styles, some with particular variations for one small run model (see Cobra example above), can you really expect them not to make mistakes. However, it really is no big deal to learn these things about the one or two cars that you own. As soon as possible, I buy the Chilton’s Manual for any car that I own.
@ Steven Lang Whenever I find a mechanic who tracks down a tricky issue with a car these days, I always think, “What if this guy had put his mind towards medical research, farming, or anything else other than a cheaply made car?”
That’s where the real loss takes place in our economy. If we encouraged independence and durability, our piece of the planet would be a far nicer place.
As cars became more complex, tricky issues started to pile up. Specifically electric glitches, and man, they’re sometimes a real PITA to solve (I tell you from direct experience). Some people don’t have the time, willingness or knowledge to perform this kind of repair themselves. That’s why I think a mechanic is needed.
I don’t agree with you in that such a job as the mechanic for example creates a loss in the economy. All of us have a place in the economy. If we go further, what would be the point of TTAC if everybody can look for themselves the information on the internet. But, TTAC gathers the information and present it to us so we can save a LOT of time sifting through many sites to find out what we want to know.
I agree however, in that encouraging both independence and durability would make the world a better place. I think what you should be calling is for a very necessary reduction in consumerism. I think you already do with your articles.
New cars are WAY too freaking complex to my tastes, and this is because government regulations, planned obsolescence, customer requirements, perceived customer requirements, marketing and a looooong etc have brought them to this point (we can summarize that as “progress”). We can even expect in the near future to have the Big Brother onboard :rolleyes:.
Sadly, manufacturers are working hard in making the customer more dependent on after sales service… so they can make more revenues. European manufacturers are king on this kind of practices.
However, not everything is lost. The internet is thriving with car forums. You can find forums for almost every model and make. Some are good, some are really shallow, but information can be found.
I took auto mechanics last year of high school (’70-71). I gave up trying to do anything semi-major that fall, after an incident with the idler arm. I got under the Falcon, and started banging away at it, but there was no way I could get it off. I finally took it down to the local shop, where they put the car on the lift, and John, who probably weighed twice my then 125 lbs, whaled away at it for a couple of minutes before it came off, while he and the shop owner teased me about needing education to do auto mechanics (my father, a Tufts U. professor, was their regular customer).
I still did tuning, and lube and oil changes, and I did ’em again many years later when I bought my ’77 toyota corolla (in ’85). I quit doing the oil changes, after I realized I was saving only $10 by not taking it to Tony Lee’s shop six blocks away, and furthermore, Tony could dispose of the oil for me, which was a big deal.
I do like knowing enough about the car so I know what the mechanics are doing and why they are doing it. But my method of saving money on cars is to buy good ones used (’99 Honda Accord LX 5-speed) and keep them as long as they work well. I love the Honda.
@ Steven Lang Whenever I find a mechanic who tracks down a tricky issue with a car these days, I always think, “What if this guy had put his mind towards medical research, farming, or anything else other than a cheaply made car?”
That’s where the real loss takes place in our economy. If we encouraged independence and durability, our piece of the planet would be a far nicer place.
I agree cars are far too complex and not durable enough. But I suspect that there are a lot of people who would much rather fix cars than do medical research, or any one of a number of other things. Although there is some overlap. I’m thinking of Harry Noller, probably still of UC Santa Cruz, who did some seminal work on the mechanics of the ribosomes, the cellular devices that read the genetic code and crank out proteins. Weekends, he’d be under his Porsche, tinkering.
Hear! Hear!, Steven. As evidenced by our recent economic mess, more people need to learn how to take care of things for themselves again. From basic maintenance on your cars, to cutting your grass, to investing your money – you should at least be knowledgeable enough to be able to do these things yourself.
With a Chilton’s/Haynes manual, a cheap OBDII scan tool (or just borrow the one at your local auto parts store), a set of car ramps, and some basic hand tools, and you can at least take care of the basics. I “repair” the cars/trucks/motorcycles of friends and family via phone all the time – all they usually need is a place to start looking for the problem. Now, with the internet, there’s no reason anyone can’t at least attempt to diagnose/repair their own car. If you’re careful, the worst that will happen is that you discover you don’t have the knowledge or skill to fix it yourself, and you take it to a service station. But facing the mechanic or service rep with some basic knowledge of what the problem might be will discourage them from throwing a bunch of high-margin parts at the problem, hoping one of them fixes it.
And don’t give me that garbage about “my time is too valuable to spend it …” – get over yourself! (you may not be as valuable as you think you are).
slowrideR:“Get an education because it is the only thing they can’t take away from you. I think I picked that up from Heinlein.
As for oil changes, I got a Pela (classy German gear) 6000 vacuum oil extraction pump for about $50. I no longer have to get the car up, remove shrouds, take off the drain plug (or forget to replace or retighten it) and get oil spattered all over the floor and me, etc. Much cleaner sucking it out through the dipstick hole, and the only tool I need is the stuff to get the oil filter housing open. You may not get the last drop out of the crankcase, but it’s good enough.
Couple of seemingly unrelated comments. I’ve had all different kinds of vehicles, from late-50’s Chevy pickups that had so much room around the engine you could practically climb into the engine compartment and close the hood, and still work on it. On the other end of that continuum, I washed the new Camry I rented before returning it to Mr. Hertz (mostly from curiosity, partly to remove all the yellow bugs and red dirt from driving in rainy, windy deserts), and my bug sponge slipped between the grill bars. I had to improvise with a bent coat hanger to remove it from the space between the grill bars and radiator.
My old Accord with the retractable headlights was a bitch to change lights on. The screws were hard to reach and if I dropped one it went somewhere down below the radiator never to be seen again.
One job I won’t do: replace exhaust. I bought a new exhaust system for the 64 230SL, jacked up the back, and whaled on the rearmost clamp for about an hour. Finally said eff it, put the new pipes in the trunk, and took it to a local shop. He had the new pipes on the car in well under the time I’d fiddled with one clamp. I don’t change my own oil for similar reasons. (or hang drywall.)
When I still had my 57 New Yorker, we went to an event in Seattle (in 1970 or so) and stopped on the way home to get gas. The agreeable young attendant asked if I wanted the oil checked. I’d checked it that day but I was curious so I said sure. He raised the hood after a minute of looking for the latch. The bottom of the hood was high enough so we could watch him looking all around that big hemi for the dipstick. Finally he pulled the dipstick for the power steering box, checked the level, and pronounced it good. We laughed for quite a while about that one.
When the local Toyota dealer raised the price of an oil-and-filter change from 22.95 to 32.95 I said heck with that and decided to change the oil in my ’03 Tacoma pickup myself. First, I had to remove the skid plates. Then drain oil (and save to recycle.) Then try and get the F%$#@!* oil filter off. The only filter wrench I had (the old fashioned kind that looped a metal band around the case) broke off the poorly-placed plastic oil-pressure sensor ($ 45 replacement). So, yes, I will be taking the beastie back to the dealer for the next change.
I am actually in a frugal car-owner’s paradise, because my mechanic is an engineer by education.
He fled from the grumpiness of corporate Germany decades ago to open his own shop. And he understands cars in and out.
When my Citroen reached the 150k KM spot, I asked him how much life was left in the old girl, and he said “leave it to me, I’ll make sure she’s OK at double that mileage.”
Why buy a new car, and why for that matter do your own oil changes, when you have a relationship with a smart, pleasant, honest fellow who takes pride in making sure a ten-year old car stays reliable and economical?
If you can find a smart, pleasant, honest mechanic who takes pride in his work, he deserves all the support he can get.
Unfortunately, about 1% of those people who work in automotive maintenance fit that description, and that’s probably a generous estimate.
In an economic crunch, people will start looking for different ways to save money. Maybe that will create resurgence in self-maintenance, or not. I suspect many will just dump their Tahoe for a Fit before they evaluate how to make their current ownership situation more livable.
I recently came back from a trip to the Philippines and the motorcycle/scooter is definitely king there. Sure there are lots of cars, but many of them are essentially taxis and there’s not a lot of beaters on the road. For most people challenged with the cost of motorized ownership, the two-wheeled variety is at the top of the to-buy list. Of course they have the weather to match open air driving, but I wonder if that trend will start to take off in North America anyway. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to run and considerably less complicated than a car. For some people willing to make a few sacrifices that might be the answer to the problem they don’t know they have.
Kyle, as a long time commuter on a motorcycle, alas, the maintenance costs are not cheap. Tires every 10K miles (an annual event for me), oil costs twice as much as regular oil, and the filter is 3x the cost. But, I do have a sportsbike and frankly, the 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, and 42mpg is worth it.
The internet is a godsend for do-it-your-selfers. When I decided my Beemer really needed new brake pads, lo and behold a complete how to with pictures on the web, much better than any Clymer or Haynes manual I have ever had. Some oil changes are easy, and some are a nightmare, the four cylinder Hondas like to shove the oil filter on the BACK of the engine. If you have two elbows on one arm, not real difficult, otherwise a pain, and oil drips down your arm. I have decided some things I will skip, for instance, I will never buy another car with drum brakes, the shoes are horrifying to replace…
Great article… more like them, please, they add needed balance to your new car reviews and tales of intrigue in the car biz. The comments on this article are great, too, and refreshing to read. Nice to know I’m not alone.
The DIY oil change ritual is much more than just swapping fluid and filters, it’s an opportunity to check out the entire vehicle and deal with minor annoyances like burnt-out bulbs and that damned rattling piece of trim you’ve put up with for weeks. It’s also a good time to check components for condition and wear: tires, hoses, belts, etc. This is the kind of stuff that NEVER gets attention when you take your car into the Quik-E-Lube, where the pit monkeys are primarily interested in blowing cars in and out as soon as they can and upselling the ignorant on overpriced, unneeded “maintenance”.
Then, there’s the intangible of quality time spent in the garage with your ride. If you have to ask why that’s desirable, I couldn’t explain it to you.
I am rehabilitating a Volvo 245 that’s not significantly different than the one flying in the air in the pic at the head of this article. For those who are interested, I’m doing a rehab diary on my blog, you can take a peek by clicking on my user name. My focus is on the DIY mechanic and on taking the time to do repairs for the long term while staying on a budget.
Lang:
Hear, hear! to the Volvo 245! Been driving one for years. No finer car made, before or since!
Mine is an ’84 245 Diesel, with a mere 246k on the clock. I expect to own it for another 25 years and 250k.
I’m amazed no one has talked about the “middle path”.
New car – too expensive. 22 year old car, no matter how well maintained – too uncertain.
Why not buy something 2-4 years old, avoiding the lion’s share of depreciation, then either do the repairs yourself, if so inclined, or have them done for you if you prefer?
There’s not much to worry about in a 3 year old car, yet you can save thousands.
I bought my Ranger when it was 2 years old. I’ve had it 8 years, and will likely keep it at least 5 more. So far, I’ve replaced a fuel pump, had the brakes done, and replaced the tires.
New car – too expensive. 22 year old car, no matter how well maintained – too uncertain.
Why not buy something 2-4 years old, avoiding the lion’s share of depreciation
You are spot on. And do not forget the other big reason to go modern regarding cars: Safety (passive and active). A 22yo car has no ABS, no Airbags, no ESC and much worse crashworthiness than a half decent modern car.
A 4yo-5 star crash rated-ESC equipped Toyota has been my choice.
A 22yo car has no ABS, no Airbags, no ESC
Which are coincidentally the types of things that the average owner cannot fix themselves if something goes wrong and therefore bringing them back to the dealer.
I agree with your thoughts on newer cars though.
Kyle Schellenberg:
Modern cars are trow-away.
A modern car from a good manufacturer should last at least 8 to 15 years without any issues with the major systems.
Depending on the company for much of that time major components will be warrantied.
After that point the car is likely garbage.
A well designed simple old car will last for ever with maintenance and, at longer intervals, rebuilt engines and transmissions, but is less comfortable and much less likely to prevent serious injury or death in an accident.
For a second car I think there is a lot of aesthetic beauty in an old car that can be kept on the road forever, but for a daily driver there is a lot to be said for things like side impact and curtain airbags and ABS.
What the economic downturn is teaching people (look at the numbers) is that, for a non-enthusiast, those features are standard in a Hyundai Sonata.
Then, there’s the intangible of quality time spent in the garage with your ride. If you have to ask why that’s desirable, I couldn’t explain it to you.…
You’ve got that right. There is a sense of attachment that can only be had this way. I can tell when the gas station pump will click off within +/-.25 gallon every time just by looking at the gas guage and trip odometer.
Knowledge is power. The more you know, the less likely you are to get ripped off.
Oil change on my battered saaby 9000 is $19.95, down the Chevy dealer. SMight as well show ’em some love while they’re still on the planet, and besides, the tackle to DIY costs as much.
And yeah, motorbikes are a lot easier to access. Huh.