Any of you ever lose the "love" for your hobby?

[R18Civic]

I'm just wondering. When I had my 3800 powered Buick I used to wrench on it every weekend. I kept it in pristine condition. Now that I have my 2012 Honda Civic I have no desire to learn the car and fix it like I did with the Buick. I found a cheap mechanic who is also a friend of the family and I'm fine paying money to have him fix it.

I lost the love for wrenching... what happened?

 

[AutoMechanic]

Sometimes. But I have many hobbies and bounce back and forth between them usually so I don’t get burned out. I love wrenching regardless but depending on how the week goes sometimes I don’t want anything to do with it when I get home and sometimes I do.

 

[HemiBenny]

Maybe it's the car? Not saying that there's anything wrong with the Civic, they're great cars, but maybe you just really loved the Buick. I mean, you are a "3800 fan".
That's the best guess I can come up with for your question, "What happened?"

Cheers.

 

[DougR]

At 72, I have not lost the satisfaction of DIY repair. I can't do the work as fast as I used to, so I make it an exercise in mindfulness and let myself feel good about doing it well.

 

[Nick1994]

Depends, here it's too hot to do anything for 1/2 the year. It's finally starting to cool down so I'm getting some things done. Also having a garage built this winter so that'll help a lot with shelter from the heat eventually.

 

[Soft Cars]

The only thing I lost the love for in my 3800 powered Buick is changing the blower motor.

1st attempt was the wrong generation blower motor and the 2nd attempt I still have yet to do.

 

[fisher83]

I've mostly lost it too. For the most part I do my own preventative maintenance but take it to a trusted family mechanic for bigger stuff. I had him do a wheel bearing and a radiator for me and he did great work and was inexpensive. When I pick up a third vehicle next year I'll probably have him do more work for me. I'm beginning to value my time more these days over saving small amounts of money.

 

[ATex7239]

Yep. I don’t really care as much anymore either. I do oil change and other easy maintenance items but sometimes not even that. So many more other things I would rather do with my time.

 

[CDX825]

I don't know but I feel ya. Used to love working on my vehicles but anymore I don't enjoy it.

I think part of it for me is having to fix other peoples stuff all day long has burnt me out on working on my own stuff.

 

[wavinwayne]

I'm right there with you. I've never been as much of a DIYer as a lot of folks on here. The biggest job I ever did was a timing belt and water pump replacement on my old VW GTI. I wouldn't dream of tackling a job of that scope today, partly because I don't love it as much, and partly because nowadays my body hurts for days after doing jobs as simple as an oil change.

That said, I'm doing a windshield cowl replacement on my BMW next weekend, but at least that doesn't involve me getting on my back.

 

[nickaluch]

I lost the love of wrenching on cars after I sold my 340 Duster and 90 Trans am in one week. I'm down to oil changes adding washer fluid and washing occasional wax.

 

[Soft Cars]

Maybe it's a loss of love for your wrenches. I always say by the best wrenches you can't afford.

 

[JeffKeryk]

You see "5 year restorations" and such on car projects. You get tired, fed up and run outta money. You gotta leave it alone, and come back later.

I would like to stab a mild roller cam in my Oldsey and the 2 speed Junkaway leaks. A Turbo 350 or 200 4R fits right in. I can say I'm busy, but that's just an excuse.

 

[Oillover]

Sorta, but I find it goes in phases.
Once I drag my tools out and set aside the time, there's nothing better than that feeling of accomplishment of a well tuned/cleaned/maintained machine.
After that's complete, I feel relieved that the task(s) have been completed properly and I can return to my routine of gym/office work and be grateful I don't do that for a living*.

*Much respect to all the mechanics on this forum!*

 

[Dave9]

Yes, my hobby was computers, and (plus college) I turned it into a career in IT, but my roots were programming, then building, overclocking, tweaking, then leveraging my electronics backgroud, also repairing, then security, etc. It just isn't necessary any longer, now we fortunately have people making mountains out of mole hills. #themagicisgone (and that's not all bad, at all, let the next generation learn and keep the ball rolling).

There is a great satisfaction in DIY whether it be cars or something else, and the substantial money savings, and knowing you did it right to the standards you wanted. Plus there is keeping what you have because if you replace what you have with something newer, odds are very high that the replacement will require more repairs, at higher cost, and higher technical skill. Some will say this is progress because on paper the newer widget is more energy efficient but they don't take into account what a conservative usage pattern is and how much *energy* goes into the replacement product and how much ends up in landfills. I digress.

Every weekend though? Heck no, I had three vehicles with the GM 3800 and didn't have to do much to them besides normal repair items, though they were notorious for intake manifold issues (which I had to fix on all 3) but otherwise almost bulletproof.

 

[JimPghPA]

I have been working on cars of my own and family members since high school, and still enjoy understanding the details of what's going on with them and keeping them reliable. But as for hobbies I used to sail and fly remote control model airplanes. And I did both of those for quite a few decades. I eventually got out of both of those hobbies and now my hobby is acoustic guitar playing. I listened to a lot of music and realized that most of the music that I listen to had an acoustic guitar.
to it and decided that I would also like to learn to play the acoustic guitar.

I still stay quite involved in the details of keeping my car (SUV) reliable.

To me working on the car is about reliability and economy, and not about doing it for the fun of doing it as much, but more about knowing that it was done right also is a big deal because there's a lot of places that are hiring people that don't have a clue about how to work on a car, and I can usually do a job much better than some kid straight out of high school who doesn't know a quarter inch Drive ratchet from a half inch drive ratchet or what a torque wrench is and how to use it, and quite a few of these places have the attitude the time is money and they try to move vehicles through as fast as they can and don't really give a darn about the quality of the work they do, and have employees that don't really give a darn about the quality of the work they do either and are only doing the minimum quality work to get the job done and the only thing they're really concerned about is collecting their paycheck.

I'll come to realize that to keep the quality of the vehicle reliable and the quality of the jobs that are done on it reliable usually the best mechanic for the job is me.

 

[k1xv]

Car maintenance has changed. In the old days, you had to keep tuning up the ignition and carburetors to keep things running optimally. Today, components last longer, need much less attention, and when something does need attention, a check engine light comes on. You plug in your scanner, it tells you what is wrong, and usually you change a failing component. No real diagnostic skill is needed to identify what is failing or needs attention.

 

[Carmudgeon]

I know the feeling. I still do it because I can, and should, but as everything ages, the enthusiasm wanes.

Even a new addition to the fleet would come with its own baggage -- learning the ropes, getting the necessary tools, and so on -- which isn't made any more appetizing by how things have become more complex, and need to be hooked to to machines to service.

Want fewer "projects," not more.

 

[4WD]

Vehicles are one of many things that need PM at your place …
And it’s the same thing with the other stuff - run out of desire before running out of paint but the hot summer builds a backlog …

 

[hrv]

Maybe it's the car? Not saying that there's anything wrong with the Civic, they're great cars, but maybe you just really loved the Buick. I mean, you are a "3800 fan".
That's the best guess I can come up with for your question, "What happened?"

Cheers.

or maybe the buick needed more wrenching than the civic...