People don't fix things anymore

[daves87rs]

Wish I could say I was one of those, but I like to do things the hard way....

Most people would toss a decade or so old GM compact, but here I am fixing them up...

Though in my case, rust will kill these cars before the engine will.

They are both due for a bit of stuff (brakes,shocks/struts) that will exceed what they are worth, but n that's okay, both run well, and I only plan to add a small car payment this year (another cheap used GM compact-even the cruze has little resale) just to have another car in case one goes down.

We have struggled hard here at times, and reuse/save, and fine with used stuff. It's about just about not wasting the money unless you need to.


It's also why our parents/earlier generations had more money in the bank too....

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Most people simply have no motivation for DIY'ing. Fixing things is a hobby of mine. I like taking broken things and giving them new life. Many times I can save money by doing so, other times its just because I like seeing how things work.

Yesterday I fixed my mom's mixer. The wiring got loose inside the motor and it kept shorting out and turning off. It worked very well prior to that and is at least 10 years old. I popped the screws off, pulled the covers apart and soldered the wires back together. Works good as new.

I'm surprised at some of the stuff people throw away. I think people fixed things years ago for two reasons. 1. They were built well enough that they could be fixed, and 2. They did so to save money.

People these days would rather just go buy new and add to their debt.



+1

 

[sleddriver]

I suspect part is due to easy money, part due to very high labor (repair) costs, part high parts (when available) costs, part no spare time, and the rest, "the new world order".

With current autos going the way of "techno-trash" like computers, it won't be the engine or transmission that dies, it'll be a death by a thousand cuts when the under-hood plastic becomes brittle and cracks and the numerous interconnected 'black-boxes' begin to fail. The result is it won't be worth fixing much less owning.

I fix everything I can & figure out what I can't. Keeps me sharp mentally and saves lots of $$$$ over time. But most of my stuff is old and original.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: E150GT
I drive new cars and I will tell you its nice to not have to work on them. I don't go crazy though. Im not in a $70k super duty with a diesel although I'd love to be.



A 2016 Mazda 6 is a very nice car IMHO. I have a very nice Sierra Crew Cab SLT (half ton) 4WD pickup. I couldn't see dropping 65K on a diesel either. The Sierra was purchased as a slightly used certified vehicle.

 

[OneEyeJack]

I wonder if today's car will have electronic problems like the dashboard display that will kill the car when they fail. Even now if your electronics are 3 or 4 years old the parts may not be made any more. The life cycle of these parts is pretty short. And depending on the device, if it fails you're stuck.

My 03 4Runner has none of these have to have displays and screen controlled accessories that have replaced buttons and sliders. So far there's nothing on this vehicle that is mysterious or difficult to trace and trouble shoot. I know it lacks all those fancy features but it's just transportation after all. I have the feeling that some of these new devices are solutions for problems I don't have.

I have owned more cars than I can count but maybe I've been lucky to have lived through a time when I could fix almost anything without a lot of special tools or dependence on the dealer and the help that only they can supply.

I have sold all my special interest cars ( I think the world classic is way over used ) and I'm down to 2 keepers, an 84 Civic wagon and an 03 4Runner, both purchased new. I am no longer interested in a new car or truck. I know that they are supposed to be better and safer in every way and that's probably true. I'm just not interested in owning a car with a mystery power system and other devices and the idea of making car payments because the car is so expensive. I've never financed a car so I guess I'm making excuses for the obvious.

 

[TexasVaquero]

Things are expensive to get fixed in the USA. k paid 10 bucks in Mexico to have a water pump installed in less than an hour. Here in the USA they would have charged me like 170 bucks and take more than 2 hours.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: TexasVaquero

Things are expensive to get fixed in the USA. k paid 10 bucks in Mexico to have a water pump installed in less than an hour. Here in the USA they would have charged me like 170 bucks and take more than 2 hours.


I'm told Taiwan is the same, cost-wise, but it doesn't happen much because new and shiny gives "face".

Very few old cars here, though they are cheap and easy to keep going (compared to the UK, my only standard of comparison) until the parts run out.

DIY is difficult, though, because there isn't any. It isn't a tool-using culture, though it was getting a bit like that in the UK before I left.

 

[Rick in PA]

Originally Posted By: John_K
With a lot of people I know it's the thrill of running and buying new.


Sadly, I guess the majority of people just don't get satisfaction from taking something that doesn't work and making it work.

Satisfaction is my reward. It keeps me repairing things. Saving a few bucks is icing on the cake.

 

[Silk]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
With current autos going the way of "techno-trash" like computers, it won't be the engine or transmission that dies, it'll be a death by a thousand cuts when the under-hood plastic becomes brittle and cracks and the numerous interconnected 'black-boxes' begin to fail. The result is it won't be worth fixing much less owning.

This.

I fix things, it's my job. And I would really like to fix some of this stuff, but I HATE plastic. Stuff all just clicks together, and is not designed to come apart again, and if you try the plastic just breaks. We'll end up with all these really nice vehicles with broken plastic components that can't be repaired. And we should be able to repair them...if they would let us.

 

[Olas]

The reverse switch in my scirocco is obsolete, and as well as reverse it also switches a gear change indicator and vacuum gauge in the instrument binnacle.

This switch was NLA in the 90s and mine failed in 2017.

Luckily the same switch body with different internals was used in later models and is still available so I stripped mine down, bought and smashed a new one which was salvaged for usable parts and the original switch repaired (McGuyver'd?) back to working condition.

Some people fix some things, some times, but time is money and it's often quicker to replace.
Also, practicality factors into the decision - ever tried to repair a snapped suspension spring? I just throw a new one in when necessary.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: E150GT

No, I know what you mean. I don't want to anything else but really I don't need another $2k computer and thats what a new pro costs. For now I am using my wife's air which is older than my pro.


My desktop (Hmmm... Inspiron?) is a $119 Dell refurb.
With its processor, memory & drive, it would've cost $5000 10 years ago, LOL!

My Laptop (Dell Latitude) was a refurb from a certified seller on eay with excellent feedback. It was $55. (with no battery - $17 on Amazon) It's never crashed or anything ever.

I fix my own phones and vehicles, and TV's if it's just the E-prom that died. Many TV repairs aren't worth it, even though most parts are available.

 

[LoneRanger]

I have a rather ridiculous theory that sort of maybe kind of goes along with all this. No more basements. Back in the day, lot of houses had basements, like the built-in-1923 English Tudor style old place near a park in the city where we grew up, that mom and dad bought for $18,000 in 1965. Basement that was a bee hive of activity for the family-- laundry, mom's artist table and painting stuff, picture frame making mitre table, dad's "gun room" with reloading (shot shells) stuff, my converted ping-pong table with h.o. gauge slot car racing track (AFX's they were called), and .... dad's work bench and table with vise and tools hanging along the wall, old pickle jars full of assorted nuts and bolts and etc. He could fix anything.... we could fix... anything it seemed.

Oh well, told you it was a ridiculous theory. There are also garage workshops. And you have to have a place you can go lay stuff out to fix it. Kitchen table doesn't always get it done...

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
I have a rather ridiculous theory that sort of maybe kind of goes along with all this. No more basements. Back in the day, lot of houses had basements, like the built-in-1923 English Tudor style old place near a park in the city where we grew up, that mom and dad bought for $18,000 in 1965. Basement that was a bee hive of activity for the family-- laundry, mom's artist table and painting stuff, picture frame making mitre table, dad's "gun room" with reloading (shot shells) stuff, my converted ping-pong table with h.o. gauge slot car racing track (AFX's they were called), and .... dad's work bench and table with vise and tools hanging along the wall, old pickle jars full of assorted nuts and bolts and etc. He could fix anything.... we could fix... anything it seemed.

Oh well, told you it was a ridiculous theory. There are also garage workshops. And you have to have a place you can go lay stuff out to fix it. Kitchen table doesn't always get it done...


Aren't our houses larger than ever?

Plus... these day's it's just not cool to have pickle jars full of parts "you might just need someday". Get looked at as a packrat.

I always thought it best to use something up. It'd be best to send a car to the junkyard with a cracked windshield, rust holes, bald tires, slipping trans, low compression, etc. Otherwise it was probably better to keep fixing (unless if replacement was cheaper).

I suspect people find it easier to live busy lives, going from one activity to another. Fixing stuff gets in the way of that. Not only that but sometimes (often) the repair doesn't go as planned. Need to order a part. Well, that item is still down until the part comes in. Hope it wasn't needed.

 

[SeaJay]

If you are willing to spend enough money, any car can be fixed and kept on the road.

At some point the expense, time and aggravation to keep doing, ever more frequently as things keep wearing out.this reaches a point of no return. There is no bright line at that point, and everyone makes their own decision as to when that point was reached. Some earlier than others,and some will seemingly never give up on their 25 year old car pushing 400K miles.

 

[HangFire]

My wife gets mad when I fix things around the house, especially the stove. Why? She wants a new one.

iPhones were made to be disposable. HTC's even more. Glued together, difficult to replace the battery. Previously, the quick advance of technology made constant phone upgrades sensible. Now, 4 year old phones have 4G, 1080p screens and quad core processors, so no technical reason to upgrade. But, consumerism is on top of it! Just glue it together, and the battery will age out, forcing replacement.

Replacing cars make more sense when you don't know squat about cars and don't do your own maintenance. For example, a few years ago I still owned an old Taurus worth $2K, I took it in for an alignment and got back a $6K estimate of suggested services. Most of it was stupid maintenance stuff I could do for cheap. (Some of it I had just done). When maintenance is priced like repair services, people trade up. $6K is how many years of payments? Most people don't have $6K available on their credit card, and if they did, they don't want to spend it on an old car that still smells like child vomit from 3 years ago when little Jonny didn't feel well.

Of course, paying $6K for that list of services would be a very foolish choice, so foolish it makes an immediate trade-in to a new car almost look wise.

 

[4WD]

No kidding - the last two years my BIL was closing in on 400k - he had some kind of chair cushion on the drivers seat.

 

[SHOZ]

I've got a Mr Coffee that is at least 30 years old. 10 years ago the silicone water hose between the tank and the heater got brittle on the heater end. I pulled the hose off, cut the brittle part off and put back on. There was enough extra hose to reach. Good as new. But I better get some 1/4" silicon hose for next time.

Rebuilt front suspension (for the most part) on a 145k mile Hyundai Accent last summer. This year rebuilding the AC system and new coolant hoses. Only real cost I've had on this car other than oil changes. My BIL thinks I'm crazy as I could never get the money back I invest in the car, it's probably only worth $1500 or so if I tried to sell it. But it would cost much more to replace it.

 

[Shannow]

suicide plugged solar panels and used oil assphelt too...some things don't need to be "fixed"

 

[wander2039]

Sometime's I wish I was clueless and just threw things away and replace! Seem's like life might be more simple.. and broke!

 

[Donald]

Ok, years ago TVs had tubes for the circuits. When one broke you could find a tube tester, test the tube and buy a new one if needed. Then came solid state and ICs. Then they got dirt cheap. It was not any thing.

But cars unlike a $300 TV are made to be maintained and repaired.